Bulgarian Government Halts Construction of Belene Nuclear Power Plant

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced an indefinite freezing of construction on the Belene Nuclear Power Plant, the country's second nuclear facility, on June 11.

Foundations for the plant were laid in 1987. Between 1988 and 1990, a sizeable percentage of the equipment had been supplied, and construction on Reactor 1 was nearly half-finished. However, plans were abandoned when capitalism was restored in Bulgaria, but the construction site was preserved. In 2002, the government decided to restart the project.

Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania (Sofia, Bulgaria), which is the national electricity company, AtomStroyExport (Moscow, Russia) and Areva NP (Paris, France) began construction late last year in northern Bulgaria, near the Romanian border and the Danube River. Revamped plans called for a production capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW) to be generated by two 1,000-MW Siemens steam-turbine generators. AtomStroyExport would be providing contractor services for two of its AES-92 WER-1000 pressurized light water reactors to drive the Siemens generators.

Currently, the Bulgarian government feels that there is a lack of guarantee for profitability, and it is not sure if the Belene Nuclear Power Plant will generate enough revenue to offset the country's initial investment. Plans for the $5.3 billion power plant, which have been stop-and-go since the 1980s, will remain frozen until Bulgaria can find a strategic foreign investor.

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