Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant

Next week, Bulgaria's Energy Ministry will sign a contract with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for the preparation of an analysis as to whether Bulgaria needs new nuclear capacity, as understood by the statement of outgoing Minister Petkova on bTV on Thursday morning.

Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania have the chance to become centers of excellence and nuclear decommissioning experience if they manage to decommission their closed nuclear units in a timely manner and complying with the envisaged costs, a European Bank for Reconstruction Development (EBRD) official has said.

If a procedure to privatize the Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) project takes place, it will certainly be successful, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has said.

"We can only saw what the real investment interest is after a privatization procedure," Petkova has told the Bulgarian National Television in an interview.

Unit 6 of Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bulgaria has been switched on again on Thursday with new Russian fuel, a nuclear watchdog official has said.

"The government will find an investor for the Belene NPP or we will find an option to construct a 7th reactor at the Kozloduy NPP," stated in Plovdiv Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov, cited by Focus agency.

The new modern cyclotron at the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAN) is expected to become operational within two years.

The deadline for the exploitation of the fifth unit of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant has been extended until 2047.

This became clear after the official exchange of the final documents on the project.

The minutes were signed by the General Director of Kozloduy NPP Ivan Andreev and the General Director of AO Rusatom Servis Evgeny Salkov.

The European Court of Auditors is set to publish its report on the use of EU funding by Kozloduy Nuclear power plant (NPP) in northern Bulgaria.

The document is to establish what progress Bulgaria has made in decommissioning the units and managing the radioactive waste. It will also contain a forecast about whether the funding disbursed will be sufficient.

Bulgaria and the United States on Saturday welcomed progress of the five high-level working groups launched last yearto deepen and strengthen the strategic partnership of the two countries in five key areas.

Bulgaria is looking for a strategic investor into an expansion of nuclear capacities, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has told a committee in Parliament.

She has explained there is certain interest from China in getting involved in Bulgaria's nuclear sector.