Westinghouse signs agreement to diversify fuel supply for Bulgarian plant
The company has signed a contract with Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant to conduct safety analysis for licensing a new nuclear fuel assembly design for Kozloduy unit 6.
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The agreement, which was signed in the presence of Bugarian Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov, follows the delivery of the first reload of Westinghouse-supplied VVER-1000 fuel assemblies to unit 5 at the plant earlier this year.
"The signing of the contract with Westinghouse marks a new key step in our consistent efforts to diversify nuclear fuel supplies for the Kozloduy NPP," Malinov said, describing the partnership between Kozloduy NPP and Westinghouse as a guarantee of Bulgarian energy security: "Thanks to the fruitful cooperation with our American partners, we have achieved tremendous progress in our common goal - to make Bulgaria's energy sector independent."
Kozloduy 5 and 6 are Russian-designed and supplied VVER-1000 units that were connected to the grid in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Both units have been through refurbishment and life-extension programmes and together generate about one-third of Bulgaria's electricity. Two Westinghouse AP1000 units are also planned for the site, aiming to come into operation in the latter half of the 2030s.
In November 2022 Bulgaria's National Assembly voted to accelerate the process of securing an alternative to Russia as supplier of nuclear fuel for the VVER-1000 units. The following month, Kozloduy NPP signed a 10-year contract with Westinghouse to fabricate and deliver VVER-1000 nuclear fuel for Kozloduy unit 5 from Westinghouse's fabrication site in Västerås, Sweden. The first fuel supplied under that contract was loaded into the reactor earlier this year.
Westinghouse said the nuclear fuel licensing for unit 6 will meet the rigorous requirements of the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulator, executing a Lead Test Assemblies Licensing Programme.
"We look forward to further contributing to the energy independence and fuel diversification for Bulgaria, which is so critical to Kozloduy NPP," Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman said. "We are also pleased about the continued progress on the project to build two Westinghouse AP1000 units at this site," he added, thanking Malinov for his "continuous and unwavering support in achieving this major milestone".
