Bulgarian NPP Kozloduy Units Five, Six Seen Switching to New Fuel by 2017

Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy said it plans to switch to new fuel for its 1,000 MW Unit Five by 2017.

The plant's only other operational unit, Unit Six, is seen running on new fuelby the autumn of 2016, the plant said in a statement made available to SeeNews on Friday.

For the change to take effect, the new fuel should be licensed for exploitation by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, the NPP added.

Earlier this month Sofia-based news portal Dnevnik.bg quoted quoting the plant's CEO Dimitar Angelov as saying that the plant has contractedTVEL, the nuclear fuel unit of Russia's Rosatom, as supplier of the new fuel. The price of the deal was not disclosed.

"Thanks to thedeal, Kozloduy NPP will save around 10 million levs ($5.7 million/5.1 million euro) annually per unit," the plant added in the statement.

The new fuel, whose technical parameters are better than the one which the plant is currently using, will raise the units' efficiency and will allow for an increase in productivity, the plant also said.

Earler in June, Bulgaria's deputy energy minister saidKozloduy NPP will upgrade Units 5 and 6, aiming to extend their lifespan and raise their capacity. The upgrade will cost a total of 360 million euro, he also said.

Kozloduy NPP remained with two operational reactors - Units 5 and 6 - of 1,000 MW each, after the country closed down four units of 440 MW each to address nuclear safety concerns of the European Union prior to its accession to the bloc. Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007.

In April 2012, the government in Sofia decided to add another 1,000 MW unit to the plant. The NPP's planned Unit 7 is seen operational after 2025 due to the project's long synchronisation procedures, the country's electricity transmission system operator said in March.

Source: SeeNews