CONSULTING

Central and Eastern Europe
In Bulgaria, nuclear power provided 15 TWh or 31.1 percent of the country’s electricity in
2015, down from a maximum of 47.3 percent in 2002. At the country’s only nuclear power plant,
Kozloduy, there are just two reactors operating, where originally there were six; the other four
reactors were closed as part of the agreement for Bulgaria to join the EU. The two remaining
VVER1000 reactors are currently licensed to operate until 2017 and 2021, 846 but the operator has
begun a relicensing program and plans to extend their operating lifetimes for up to 60 years. In
October 2014, a Franco-Russian consortium consisting of EDF, Rosenergoatom and Rosatom
subsidiary Rusatom Service was awarded a lifetime extension contract for Kozloduy-5. In
October 2015, Rosatom signed a contract for turbine generator upgrading to be implemented on
unit 5 by May 2018. In January 2016, Rusatom Service and the Bulgarian company Risk
Engineering signed an agreement for the assessment of the “technical condition and justification
of the residual service life” of Kozloduy 6. 847 In May 2016, it was reported that the technical work
on the completion of the life-extension on unit 5 has been completed. 848
There have been ongoing attempts since the mid-1980s to build another nuclear power plant at
Belene in Northern Bulgaria including firms from Bulgaria, France, Germany, and Russia. The
latest came to a halt in February 2013 when the Parliament finally confirmed the then Prime
Minister’s decision to abandon the plant. The Government and industry have now refocused their
efforts on building another reactor at Kozloduy. In April 2012, the Government announced that
an additional unit would be built “on market principles, that is, without government money or
state guarantees.” 849 In December 2013, the Government approved a report from the Ministry of
Economy and Energy to authorize the Bulgarian Energy Holding company—which would operate
a new unit—to negotiate with Toshiba (owning 87 percent of Westinghouse) to become the
strategic investor in the construction of an AP1000 reactor. Vendor Toshiba was to be asked to
invest 30 percent of the final costs and help secure the remaining 70 percent from foreign lenders,
specifically the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Export-Import Bank of the
United States. The deadline for signing the agreement was 30 September 2014. 850 The potential
involvement of national export-import banks from the U.S. and Japan highlights the difficulties in
building a reactor without state support. In early June 2014, Toshiba withdrew from the project
and was replaced by Westinghouse as the strategic investor, and in August 2014, Westinghouse
signed a “shareholder agreement” committing it to take a 30 percent stake in the project.
Furthermore, US Vice-President Kerry offered that Washington could study ways in which it could
846 Republic of Bulgaria, “Sixth National Report under the Convention on Nuclear Safety”, 2013 (although
more recent press reports state that the license for unit 6 expires in 2019. See: NEI, “Life extension for
Bulgaria’s Kozloduy 6”, 1 February 2016, see http://www.neimagazine.com/news/newslife-extension-forbulgarias-kozloduy-6-4798509,
accessed 2 July 2016.
847 NEI, “Life extension for Bulgaria's Kozloduy 6”, 1 February 2016, see
http://www.neimagazine.com/news/newslife-extension-for-bulgarias-kozloduy-6-4798509, accessed
2 July 2016.
848 Reuters, “Russia's Rosatom completes upgrade of Bulgarian nuclear reactor”, 31 May 2016, see
http://uk.reuters.com/article/rosatom-bulgaria-idUKL8N18S28W, accessed 2 July 2016.
849 AFP, “Bulgaria approves new reactor at nuclear plant”, Agence France Presse, 11 April 2012.
850 Sofia Globe, “Bulgaria to begin talks with Westinghouse on new Kozloduy nuclear reactor”,
11 December 2013, see http://sofiaglobe.com/2013/12/11/bulgaria-to-begin-talks-with-westinghouse-onnew-kozloduy-nuclear-reactor/,
accessed 2 July 2016.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 199 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016