Minister Radev: The government believes that there may be new nuclear units at the Belene site after 2035

The interests of Bulgarian citizens are the basis of all our decisions in energy policy. This is what the Minister of Energy Rumen Radev said in the National Assembly during the debates on the vote of no confidence in the government. Minister Radev reminded the people's representatives of the main highlights of the Ministry of Energy's activities in the past four months. According to him, the negotiations for the renegotiation of the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability have started since the first days of the mandate of the current government. The starting point in these negotiations is the consensus policies reached within the Green Deal Consultative Council.

The road map for climate neutrality was updated by the Council of Ministers so that it corresponds to the agreement signed with the unions at the end of September, explained Minister Radev. What is recorded in the road map is a forecast, it does not foresee the liquidation of capacities, it became clear from his words.

The Ministry of Energy sent brief information on the projects that the government sees as priority in the energy sector.

Territorial plans for a just transition had to be submitted to the European Commission at the end of last year, and there has been a huge delay in the work on them. In their previous version, a sharp reduction in the number of people employed in coal production was foreseen as early as 2026. In the updated version of the plans that the government sent to Brussels, an individualized approach to each specific region was applied, taking into account its specificities, the energy minister also pointed out. The funds for the conversion of the coal regions have been increased from 116 to 201 million euros. The preparation of a management plan for the "Maritsa-East" complex has been started, which aims to ensure the general transformation of the complex in its entirety. During the public discussion of the territorial plans, a series of meetings were held with the interested parties and 120 opinions on the texts were received. A large part of them have found a place in the new plans, explained Minister Radev.

Changes to the Energy Law and the Law on Energy from Renewable Sources provide the legal basis for important reforms in the energy sector – market liberalization, promotion of renewable energy production and others.

Among other strategic tasks carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs team, Minister Radev singled out the transparent procedure for electing a representative of the state in the Supervisory Board of "Lukoil Neftohim Burgas" JSC, the initiated negotiations for the acquisition of a 20% share in "Block 1-21 Khan Asparuh" by BEH EAD, the opening of production for oil and natural gas exploration in "Block 1-26 Han Tervel", the development of a concept for the realization of the Alexandroupolis - Burgas project and others.

In the field of nuclear energy, Minister Radev indicated that the government assesses the site in Belene as suitable for the construction of new nuclear units after 2035. Currently, preliminary design studies have been commissioned for the construction of two new units using AR 1000 technology at the Kozloduy NPP site. The process of diversification of the fresh nuclear fuel is going according to schedule and the first deliveries are expected in April 2024, the Minister of Energy also announced. According to him, the construction of the repository for low- and medium-level waste will be completed by the end of this year.

Two new PSHPs with an installed capacity of 1,600 megawatts are included in the government's plans. They will be located at the Dospat and Batak dams and are due to be operational in 2032.

Investments in the electricity transmission network are of key importance for the competitive development of the industry and the possibility of connecting new capacities. In this regard, ESO is actively working on the reconstruction of nearly 1,000 km of power lines, increasing their capacity and digitizing the network.

In July, the actual construction activities on the project for the expansion of the underground gas storage in Chiren started. The project is of key importance for energy security. With its implementation, the capacity of the physical volume of natural gas, which can be pumped into the storage - from 550 million to 1 billion cubic meters.

As of October 9, the "Chiren" gas station is 96.2% full. Thus, Bulgaria has fulfilled ahead of schedule its commitment to achieve at least 90% filling by November 1, 2023, laid down in the European regulation on the storage of natural gas, announced Minister Radev in conclusion.