The Bulgarian Council of Ministers took a decision to undertake preparatory activities and study the opportunities a new nuclear power plant to be built at Kozloduy NPP site during its meeting on 14 th of October 2020. The building has to be carried out according to the Order № AA-04-30 / 21.02.2020 of the Chairman of The Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency in the context of achieving the European Union’s goals for climate neutrality by 2050 and diversification of energy resources.

According to Article 2 of the abovementioned decision, the Bulgarian Minister of Energy is instructed to take the necessary action and to allow to Bulgarian Energy Holding the beginning of negotiations with United States’ companies that develop new nuclear technologies with peaceful purposes, including small modular reactors’ technologies in order to study the possibilities for construction of a new nuclear power plant at Site 2, situated near to existing KNPP.

The citied decision of the Bulgarian Council of Ministers doesn’t determine a single and total installed capacity of the planned plant, nor does it limit the technologies alternatives to be considered. Moreover, it gives a mandate to expand the scope of already performed activities related with the project for the construction of a new power capacity at KNPP site and done by KNPP_ New Builds Plc.

Its main goal, in line with global trends, is to make some preliminary studies and analysis about the possibilities of using small modular reactors as a future alternative of the current, so called, large reactors of generation 3+.
These small modular reactors would have advantages in liberalized markets such as the European one, due to their ability to follow the load of the grid and support its sustainability after the widespread introduction of unpredictable alternative energy sources, especially.

According to the decision, taken by the Bulgarian Council of Ministers some kind of activities have to be undertake regarding the analysis of the possibility to use the full capacity and the maximum extent of the investigated and approved site for the location of new nuclear facilities taking into account the cumulative effect related with the construction of a new big standard latest generation nuclear unit as the Decision of Bulgarian Council of Ministers from 2012 has been referred to.