ME: An agreement is pending for the construction of the Seventh Unit at the Kozloduy NPP using AP 1000 technology

The intergovernmental agreement between the USA and Bulgaria, cooperation in the field of nuclear energy and RES technologies were among the topics discussed at a meeting between the team of the Ministry of Energy and a delegation of the US Embassy in our country.

The meeting held on 28.06.23 was attended by the Minister of Energy Rumen Radev, Deputy Minister Iva Petrova, Deputy Minister Krasimir Nenov and Karina Angelieva, Chief of the Minister's Office. On behalf of the US Embassy, Ambassador Kenneth Merten, Deputy Ambassador Andrea Broulet-Rodriguez and Mr. Aaron Cope, Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs participated. This was announced today by the Ministry of Energy.

Minister Radev presented the general priorities to the Ministry's team regarding the energy policy and strategy for the development of the Energy sector, emphasizing the cooperation with the USA in the area of Nuclear Energy. In this context, the steps taken towards the finalization of the Intergovernmental Agreement were also discussed. Deputy Minister Krasimir Nenov informed the guests about the current state of the process in accordance with the framework set by the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. According to the decision of the parliament, an agreement on the construction of a new nuclear power plant at the Kozloduy NPP with AR1000 technology (unit 7 of the Kozloduy NPP) is to be concluded.

Ambassador Merten emphasized that a significant amount of work has been done so far and described the agreement as "a new era of cooperation between the two countries". He stated that Bulgaria could be one of the first countries in Europe with an installed and operating AP 1000 reactor, which is an exceptional opportunity. The ambassador was also interested in the process of licensing the new fresh nuclear fuel, he touched on the topic of small modular reactors, which are a very promising technology.

The parties also discussed the licensing of fresh nuclear fuel to Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB as an essential part of the government's actions to ensure supply diversification. Minister Radev emphasized the rhythmicity in the work of all interested parties, incl. the current review of the package of documents, including neutron-physical, thermo-mechanical, strength, thermo-hydraulic and radiological analyzes for mixed and homogeneous charges, as well as the necessary time before the Nuclear Regulatory Agency to issue a permit to operate the new type of nuclear fuel.

Another topic touched upon was the diversification of natural gas supplies, with Deputy Minister Iva Petrova stating: "The intersystem gas connection between Bulgaria and Greece was a turning point because it provided access to the LNG terminal, as well as to the Southern Gas Corridor, along which natural gas is being transported from Azerbaijan to us. Another key project is the terminal in Alexandroupolis, where Bulgaria has a stake through its company - Bulgartransgaz. We hope that it will be operational by the end of the year. Bulgargaz has a reserved capacity of 1 billion cubic meters at the terminal. We are working on intersystem gas connections with Serbia and North Macedonia, as well as increasing the storage capacity in Chiren. We participate in the platform for common gas supplies initiated by the EC. These efforts have resulted in supply assurance and diversification both for the country and for the Southeast Europe region."

The American ambassador commented that he was happy to see how successful and proactive Bulgaria is in terms of the security of supply of natural gas supplies and the diversification of sources and routes, and praised the good relations of our country with other countries in the region.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Rumen Radev expressed a desire for Bulgaria and the USA to discuss possible cooperation in the field of geothermal energy, RES, new technological low-emission solutions for electricity production, incl. small modular nuclear reactors and green hydrogen. Emphasis was placed on the possibilities for technological transfers as well as for investment interest and for the realization of possible public-private partnerships.