Bulgaria Extends Life of Last Nuclear Plant

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Bulgaria has thrown a lifeline to its Kozloduy nuclear plant by granting a 10-year life extension for Unit 5 to continue operating until 2027.

Unit 5 is one of two remaining operational VVER-1000 pressurised water reactors at the site, and its existing licence would have expired this year, with the licence for Unit 6 due to expire in 2019. Kozloduy is Bulgaria's only nuclear plant and also is home to four shuttered reactors. This is the first time that the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) has extended the life of a nuclear plant. The NRA stated that it believes the unit could safely operate until 2047, but licences are only granted for 10-year periods. Bulgaria agreed to closing Kozloduy units 1 and 2 in 2002, followed by units 3 and 4 in 2006, as part of its terms for joining the European Union (EU) in 2007. The reactors are Russian-made V-230 model VVER-440 reactors.

Kozloduy units 5 and 6 have a combined generating capacity of roughly 2,000 megawatts (MW) and are responsible for supplying a third of the country's power. The government committed to spending 360 million euro ($391 million) in 2016 to upgrade the reactors.

The government has plans to build a seventh unit but has run into numerous delays in recent years. The new 1,200-MW unit is proposed for the site at the Kozloduy plant on the river Danube and is expected to cost about $7.7 billion. In 2015, it proposed an improved offer to Westinghouse Electric Company (Monroeville, Pennsylvania), offering a 49% stake if it pledged to fund 49% of the project. Those talks have stalled, and the government has said that it is also talking to potential Chinese investors. For additional information, see March 30, 2015, article - Bulgaria Sweetens Nuclear Offer for Westinghouse.

This summer, Industrial Info reported on a groundbreaking ceremony for a low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste repository on the Kozloduy site. The facility is being developed by the country's State Enterprise Radioactive Waste (SERAW), which is overseeing the decommissioning of the four reactors at Kozloduy. It is being constructed by Nukem Technologies GmBH (Alzenau, Germany). For additional information, see September 8, 2017, article - Bulgaria Breaks Ground on Nuclear Waste Storage Site.

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