Bulgarian Ministry of Energy announced that nuclear power plant Kozloduy will sign a contract with Framatome for the supply of fresh nuclear fuel for its 1,000 MW unit 6. The contract will be signed on 30 December.
The contract is going to be signed with German subsidiary of French nuclear energy company Framatome.
Last week, NPP Kozloduy and Westinghouse Electric Sweden have signed an agreement for the supply of fresh nuclear fuel for the plant’s unit 5.
These agreements come as part of NPP Kozloduy’s program for diversification of nuclear fuel supply, which has been coordinated with the EURATOM, and complies with a decision made by the Bulgarian Parliament in November, to accelerate the process of finding an alternative nuclear fuel source.
A similar contract with French Framatome is also being drafted, which is supposed to ensure the supply of nuclear fuel for the Kozloduy’s unit 6. This will achieve complete diversification and security of the supply.
The term of the contract signed with Westinghouse is 10 years. In 2023, the nuclear fuel will be fully licensed and it is fully compatible with the technology used at NPP Kozloduy. Regarding financial details of the agreement, Minister Hristov said that the price improved considerably during the negotiations, compared to the initial offer received in July, and now the price is equal to that of the Russian supplier TVEL.