Kozloduy’s two operating reactors (Image credit: Kozloduy NPP)
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Energy announced that Project company Kozloduy NPP New Build and Westinghouse Electric Company had signed an extension of a Front-End Engineering & Design (FEED) contract for the construction of AP1000 reactors at units 7&8 of the Kozloduy NPP. The FEED contract to explore the possibilities of building a new reactor using American technology was signed in June 2023. According to the schedule adopted by the National Assembly, however, its completion was expected in June this year. This has not been realised, which made necessary the continuation of the contract.
Seenews cited a Westinghouse official last year as saying the FEED contract would take around nine to ten months. The scope of the contract covers early engineering works “including an assessment of the existing infrastructure at the Kozloduy site that could be leveraged for the potential construction of new nuclear units with the AP1000 technology,” the official said. The FEED scope should also include an evaluation of the local industry to identify to what extent Westinghouse could use or develop a local supply chain. In parallel, a detailed implementation schedule for the project must be put together before the company develops an indicative cost estimate.
“The main purpose of the FEED is to provide the stakeholders in Bulgaria with all the required details for them to make an objective final investment decision,” the official also said. If that decision is taken in the first half of 2024, the detailed design would then need approval from the Bulgarian regulator and a construction permit, which could take two years. Construction would normally take five years, and the final commissioning of the plant one year, according to the official said.
Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov said the signing of the extension document “is another important step in the implementation of what is for Bulgaria and the region a strategic project for the construction of nuclear capacity”. In early September, Malinov had said he expected an engineering contract to be signed by the end of October between Kozloduy NPP New Build and a consortium of Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Westinghouse.
In February, Bulgaria and the US signed a formal agreement to collaborate on the construction of Kozloduy 7&8. While the units are to have Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, Westinghouse will not take part in the construction but will retain overall control of the project. South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C), part of Hyundai Corporation has been shortlisted for the EPC contract.
Currently, Kozloduy NPP operates two Soviet-built VVER-1000 reactors (units 5&6). Bulgaria was obliged to close four older VVER-440 units as a condition for accession to the European Union, even though the units had undergone significant safety upgrades. According to the schedule, Kozloduy unit 7 should be operational in 2035 followed by unit 8 two years later. However, it seems that this schedule may now have to be revised.
