New Projects - Nuclear

Westinghouse signs contracts to deliver Bulgarian nuclear projects

Westinghouse Electric Company has signed contracts with Bulgarian suppliers for the delivery of new nuclear projects at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria.
Westinghouse signs contracts to deliver Bulgarian nuclear projects
(From left to right): Marin Jordanov, Executive Director of EQE; Kalin Peshov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GBS; Sean Jones, Senior Director, Energy Systems Account Management & Procurement Execution, Westinghouse Electric Company; George Manchev, Executive Director of EnergoService; Milan Milanov, Executive Director of ENPRO Consult; Elena Mincheva, Owner & Manager of OSKAR EL. Image courtesy Westinghouse

US-based Westinghouse Electric Company has signed contracts with Bulgarian suppliers to support the delivery of new nuclear projects at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in northern Bulgaria.

The suppliers, including OSKAR-EL, Glavbolgarstroy, ENPRO Consult, EnergoService and EQE Bulgaria, will supply instrumentation and controls (I&C) systems, radiation monitoring systems, as well as various engineering, consulting and construction services.

Westinghouse will supply the modular AP1000 Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems.

The AP1000 Plant is a two-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR). The plant has a gross power rating of 3,415MWt, a nominal net electrical output of 1,110MWe, a 157-fuel-assembly core, and is therefore ideal for baseload generation.

“I am proud that a US company, Westinghouse, can partner with the Ministry of Energy and Parliament on this important project,” said US Ambassador to Bulgaria Kenneth Merten. “This MOU signing paves the way for growth in the nuclear sector, economic growth in Bulgaria and clean no-carbon energy.”

For more than a decade, the Westinghouse I&C Center of Excellence for the EMEA region, located in Sofia, has provided engineering services and solutions for the Kozloduy NPP.

“We continue to make excellent progress on the front-end engineering and design study for up to two AP1000 reactors at the Kozloduy site,” said David Durham, President of Energy Systems, Westinghouse. “The Bulgarian nuclear supply chain is deeply experienced and will be critical in supporting our successful delivery of the world’s most advanced, proven AP1000 reactor for our customer.”

Kozloduy nuclear power plant

Kozloduy nuclear power plant was the first nuclear power plant to be built in Bulgaria.

Engineering work started on 15 July 1966 with the signing of the cooperation with the former Soviet Union.

The construction of the main building of Kozloduy NPP started on 6 April 1970, with the first reactor arriving in June 1972.

Following the commitments made by Bulgaria to join the European Union in 2007, Kozloduy NPP ceased operations of the first four units before the expiry of their design lifetime.

Units 5 and 6 have gone through refurbishment programs to extend their operations by 30 years.

Originally published by Pamela Largue in Power Engineering International.