Bulgaria to add two US-designed reactors to Danube nuclear plant

The new units will be based on US technology developed by Westinghouse and will add 2.3GW to the country’s 12.7GW installed capacity.

The announcement follows an agreement reached earlier this year between Westinghouse and Kozloduy for two AP1000 pressurised water units.

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said on Wednesday that his government has allocated €250m to pay for the initial work on the project. He said the first reactor was expected to be ready in 2033 with the second following two or three years later.

News site Euractiv says its sources suggested this deadline may be optimistic and will likely be completed by 2035 and added that no overall cost had been given.

There are only two plants using Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology in the world – one in China and the other in the US.

The plant on the Danube is Bulgaria’s sole nuclear facility. It operates two Russian-designed VVER-1000 units installed in 1987 and 1991. Their operational licences are due to expire in 2027 and 2029, respectively, but the units could be operated beyond those dates subject to regulatory approval.

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