site.btaEUR 360 Mln Needed to Extend Nuclear Reactors' Service Life and Increase Their Capacity

EUR 360 Mln Needed to Extend Nuclear Reactors' Service Life and Increase Their Capacity

Varna, on the Black Sea, June 3 (BTA) - Some 360 million euro is
needed to finance an extension of the service life of the two
operational reactors (Units 5 and 6) at the Kozloduy Nuclear
Power Plant and to increase their output capacity, Deputy Energy
Minister Nikolai Nikolov told an international conference in
Varna Wednesday.

Nikolov said these two goals will be pursued simultaneously. He
argued that the reactors' service life can be extended by 30
years in three increments of 10 years. The plant has made a
formal request for the first 10-year increase.

The international conference discussed the Bulgarian nuclear
energy sector and its relevance to national, regional and world
energy security.

Opening the conference, Valentin Nikolov, Deputy Chair of the
Energy Committee in Parliament, said the main problem about
building another nuclear power plant in Bulgaria is the money.
"Such a project would absorb nearly 10 per cent of the country's
GDP, which makes it difficult to implement even for the
government and its budget," he said.

According to him, there is cheap funding available at present
and there are interested entities willing to put their money in
such a project. Building additional capacities in the existing
nuclear plant at Kozloduy is another possibility which is being
explored, Valentin Nikolov said.

Bulgaria needs a new energy strategy with a longer range - until
2030 or even 2050, he said.

Atlantic Club of Bulgaria President Solomon Passy noted that
nuclear energy has at least three advantages: it entails lower
carbon emissions, lower energy dependence, and lower electricity
costs, the last of which is a national issue in Bulgaria.