- On Thursday, Bulgaria’s state-owned nuclear power plant Kozloduy signed a deal with Westinghouse Electric Sweden to supply it with nuclear fuel for its 1,000-megawatt Russian-built Unit 5, the first step to diversifying away from Russian supplies.
- Bulgarian Energy Minister Rossen Hristov said that nuclear fuel shipments from Russia were currently unclear. Hence, the new 10-year contract with Westinghouse.
On Thursday, Bulgaria’s state-owned nuclear power plant Kozloduy signed a deal with Westinghouse Electric Sweden to supply it with nuclear fuel for its 1,000-megawatt Russian-built Unit 5, the first step to diversifying away from Russian supplies. The European Union currently relies on Russian nuclear fuel for both units at the 2,000-megawatt Kozloduy plant but is seeking to boost energy security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The plant produces about 35% of the country’s electricity and uses nuclear fuel supplied by the Russian firm Rosatom.
Kozloduy is also aiming to sign a deal with France’s Framatome, a unit of EDF for its other reactor, Unit 6.
“We have finally made a step towards diversifying the nuclear fuel for our plant. This way, we are ensuring our energy security,” said Kozloduy CEO Georgi Kirkov. Also, Bulgarian Energy Minister Rossen Hristov said that nuclear fuel shipments from Russia were currently unclear. Hence, the new 10-year contract with Westinghouse helped secure the plant’s operation, adding that the new fuel will be used from mid-2024, while current fuel stores can be used until then.