Bulgaria to evaluate NuScale SMRs for Kozloduy

CEO excitement: “NuScale’s safe, scalable technology is a perfect solution for Bulgaria as it looks to expand and diversify its clean energy portfolio,” said John Hopkins, NuScale’s chairman and chief executive officer. “NuScale is excited to work with a prominent energy partner such as KNPP-NB on this potential deployment of our technology, and we look forward to demonstrating the numerous benefits our SMRs can bring to the region.”

Lyuben Marinov, KNPP-NB’s CEO, stated, “The need to implement safe, reliable and maneuverable power on-site at Kozloduy is well understood. The NuScale SMR is one of the best options to achieve European and Bulgaria policy goals in a liberalized power market, improve the security of energy supply, and add sufficient value in national gross domestic product.”

Scaling up: Over the past three years, NuScale has signed similar MOUs with entities in Canada (November 2018), Jordan (January 2019), Romania (March 2019), the Czech Republic (September 2019), and Ukraine (February 2020). And in October 2020, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation signed a letter of intent to support NuScale Power in the development of 2,500 megawatts of nuclear energy in South Africa.

Backdrop: Kozloduy is Bulgaria’s only nuclear power facility. Situated close to the Danube River border with Romania, the plant houses two operating reactors—Unit 5, a 963-MWe pressurized water reactor, and Unit 6, a 1,003-MWe PWR. Both are Russian-designed VVER-1000s. The plant also includes four retired units, all VVER-440s. Units 1 and 2 were shut down in early 2004, and Units 3 and 4 at the end of 2006.