Westinghouse inks engineering contract for AP1000 reactors in Bulgaria

Westinghouse Electric Company, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and Bulgaria’s Kozloduy NPP - New Build EAD have signed the engineering services contract for two AP1000 reactors to be built at the Kozloduy site in Bulgaria.

The contract scope includes site planning for two Westinghouse AP1000 units, as well as support for licensing, permitting, project planning, and operations and maintenance development.

The work outlined in the 12-month contract will begin immediately, with the first AP1000 nuclear reactor anticipated to achieve commercial operation in 2035.

Westinghouse has already signed Memoranda of Understanding with 22 Bulgarian suppliers to support the project.

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“Bulgaria has over 50 years of experience in the construction of nuclear facilities. And today's event will build on this experience and contribute to the independence, diversification and stability of nuclear energy in the country and throughout Europe,” said Dimitar Glavchev, Bulgarian prime minister.

Vladimir Malinov, Bulgarian minister of energy added: “The main priority of our cabinet is the development of nuclear energy...I believe that in less than 10 years we will have a working project that will be a guarantee for the Bulgarian population and country, that we will have clean energy at an affordable price.”

The AP1000 reactor is a Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, a modular construction design and small footprint per MWe.

In China, there are currently four operating AP1000 reactors with eight additional reactors under construction and four more under contract.

The AP1000 technology has been selected for nuclear energy programmes in Poland, Ukraine and Bulgaria, and is also under consideration at multiple other sites in Central and Eastern Europe. There will be 18 units based on AP1000 technology in operation globally by the end of the decade.