Bulgaria Signs Nuclear Plant Deal with Westinghouse

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Bulgaria's government has signed a Front-End Engineering & Design (FEED) contract with U.S. supplier Westinghouse Electric Company (Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania) for an AP1000 reactor to be constructed at the existing Kozloduy NPP plant.

Kozloduy is home to two operating Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors -- Units 5 and 6 -- which generate a combined 2,000 megawatts (MW), which is roughly a third of the country's power. Both of the older reactors, which came online in the late 1980s and early 1990s, have undergone extensive refurbishment to allow for life extensions to boost their lifespans from 30 to 60 years. Four other reactors -- Units 1-4 -- were deemed too old for upgrading by the European Commission (EC) and shut in 2007 as part of the country's negotiations to become part of the European Union (EU). If the project moves forward it will be the first deployment of the AP1000 in Europe.

Last December, Westinghouse signed a 10-year agreement to supply nuclear fuel to one of the Kozloduy units, starting in 2024. The fuel will be supplied out of Westinghouse's fabrication site in Vasteras, Sweden, and is the only fully Western European option to Russian supply. The Kozloduy plant is located in the northwest of Bulgaria on the Danube River.

"We are pleased to begin work to deliver the world's most advanced, Generation III+ reactor technology to provide clean and reliable baseload energy for our customer and the people of Bulgaria," said David Durham, energy systems president for Westinghouse.

Bulgaria is looking for ways to reduce its dependence on Russian gas and maintain its role as a major exporter of power to neighboring countries. As part of the country's Energy Strategy for the next 30 years Energy Minister Rossen Hristov, part of the current caretaker government, has called for two new reactors at Kozloduy and two at Belene. In 2019, Industrial Info reported that the former government had officially invited potential investors to register their expressions of interest in the long-mooted Belene nuclear power project. No strategic investor was found. The project has had a long and troubled history and was abandoned in 2012 for being too expensive.

Westinghouse is also aiming to use the AP1000 in Poland's first planned nuclear power plant. It signed an agreement outlining a plan for the delivery of the plant with Bechtel Corporation and state-owned Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ).

To date, there is one AP1000 reactor operating and another nearing completion at the Vogtle site in Georgia in the U.S., a project that has run years more than planned and billions of dollars over budget. There are also four operational AP1000 reactors in China, two each at Sanmen and Haiyang, while two CAP1000 units--Chinese versions of the AP1000--are under construction at both locations as part of expansion projects. There is also a project to build four CAP1000 reactors at China's Lufeng NPP, which has provisional approval but is awaiting the final green light.

In Poland, Westinghouse has signed an agreement outlining a plan for the delivery of the country's first nuclear power plant with Bechtel Corporation and state-owned Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ). The company, which landed the contract from the Polish government last November, said that the contract lays the foundation for design activity to start later this year and the construction to start in 2025. The government is driving the program to build 6 to 9 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power, starting with three reactors at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in northern Poland. The plant will boast three Generation III+ AP1000 reactors with a combined output of 3,750 MW, with the first reactor estimated to be commissioned in 2033. For additional information, see November 22, 2022, article - Poland's First Nuclear Plant Project Goes to Westinghouse.

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