Nuclear energy conference

site.btaUPDATED Deputy Energy Minister Bozhkov: No Delay in Licensing of Westinghouse's Nuclear Fuel for Kozloduy NPP Unit 5

Yoanna Vodenova

Deputy Energy Minister Elenko Bozhkov speaking at a nuclear energy conference in Sofia, Mar. 28, 2023 (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

28.03.2023 13:14 | UPDATED 28.03.2023 17:22

(BTA)

There are no delays in the process of licensing the nuclear fuel to Westinghouse, caretaker Deputy Energy Minister Elenko Bozhkov told journalists on Tuesday after his participation in a conference on the development of the nuclear power industry, which is being held in Sofia. He said a meeting would be held on Wednesday to continue working on the matter.

The contract with the US company Westinghouse for the supply of nuclear fuel for the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant's Unit 5 is for 10 years, Bozhkov said. The first delivery will be in 2024. The fuel is yet to be licensed and the reports are currently being submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA).

A contract has been signed with the French company Framatom for the supply of fresh nuclear fuel for Kozloduy NPP's Unit 6, the deputy minister added. Under this contract, the supply is also for 10 years. The first delivery will take place in 2025. "Very good financial conditions. The final contract was signed on March 24," Bozhkov commented.

Later on Tuesday, the Energy Ministry clarified that the contracts to be signed with the US company Westinghouse and the French company Electricité de France (EDF) concern only a feasibility engineering study and no construction at the Kozloduy and Belene sites. Decisions on the construction of such strategic objects can only be taken by the National Assembly, the ministry said.

The purpose of the feasibility engineering studies and analyses is to establish all the technical and economic parameters of possible designs for new nuclear facilities, including what are the options for using the existing equipment through integration into a modern overall system. All these data will be provided to the next regular government and the parliament, where the final decision on the development of the projects will actually be made, based on real technical and economic indicators, and not on political biases, the ministry added.

/RY/