A new nuclear reactor
Bulgaria will aim to add at least one new nuclear reactor to its power generating capacity as fast as possible, finance minister Assen Vassilev said.
The energy ministry is studying the opportunities for the rapid construction of a new nuclear reactor, most likely at its sole nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy where there is a licensed site with an environmental assessment and a working team, Vassilev said on Sunday, as heard in an audio file published on the website of public radio BNR.
If the project for the construction of a new reactor is launched this year, the new nuclear capacity will become operational by 2030, Vassilev noted. A second new reactor may be added as well, the finance minister said.
Bulgaria currently operates two Russian-made reactors of 1,000 MW each at Kozloduy NPP. The plant's four older units, of 440 MW each, were closed down to address nuclear safety concerns of the European Union prior to Bulgaria's accession to the bloc in 2007.