Approving Site 2 for the Deployment of a Nuclear Facility

On February 21, 2020. the BNRA Chairman presented to “Kozloduy NPP-New Builds” PLC administrative act – Order №AA-04-30 approving site 2 for the deployment of a nuclear facility – nuclear power plant.

In accordance with national legislation and according to the IAEA guidance documents, the site selection process went through several phases, multiple analyzes and studies of proposed sites were conducted, detailed characterization and ranking of these sites was carried out and the most suitable site and project bases were defined.

Object of analysis to determine the preferred site for the deployment of a new nuclear facility, were 4 potential sites as follows:

• Site 1 – The site is located northeast of Units 1 and 2. The land area is about 55 hectares;             
• Site 2 – The site is located to the east of Kozloduy NPP Units 1 and 2, in the direction of the village of Harlets. The land area is about 55 hectares;             
• Site 3 – The site is located north of Kozloduy NPP Units 5 and 6, near the bypass of the existing plant. The land area is about 53 hectares;             
• Site 4 – The site is located to the west of Kozloduy NPP Units 3 and 4 and the Spent fuel storage, south of the cold and hot channels. The available area is about 21 hectares, within the expropriated areas of the NPP.             

Each one of the  subprojects  /Technical-economic analysis for construction of a new nuclear power unit at Kozloduy NPP site; Research and determinimg the location of the preferred site for construction of new nuclear unit at NPP “Kozloduy”; Performing an EIA of the investment proposal for building a new nuclear power unit at the NPP “Kozloduy” site/, conducted in the preparatory phase of the project for construction of a new nuclear power at the Kozloduy NPP site, evaluate and rank the described above sites on a different set of criteria, defined in the national and international documents in the field, as well as those which can help assess the characteristics of the respective sites, the reuse of existing infrastructure and interaction with existing facilities and the degree of difficulty in the implementation of the projects on the different sites.

Based on the results obtained, the most appropriate site for the deployment of a nuclear facility – nuclear power plant – was selected and proposed for approval by the NRA Chairman, Site 2.

Undeniable advantages of the site

• Good conditions for joining to the electricity system. During the construction of one or two units with a single rated capacity of 1200 MW, the Kozloduy NPP site will not need to install additional energy transmission capacity;
• The most up-to-date site research;
• A large number of wells of different depths were carried out, with more than 400 samples.
• All considered sites at Kozloduy NPP were examined on the basis of the most conservative conditions, taking into account the events in Fukushima, in accordance with the latest requirements of the NRA and the IAEA. Site 2 has the most favorable conditions:

– Higher elevation / + 35 meters / – natural flood protection;         

– Better conditions for foundation of structures;         

– Lowest potential for liquefaction of water-saturated sands during seismic impacts;         

– No active faults – the most calm from a seismic point site in Bulgaria;         

– Least excavation work compared to another site;         

– There is no possibility of “slope instability”;         

– There are no prerequisites for the formation of avalanches, mud flows and other dangerous hydrological, meteorological, etc. phenomena;         

• Unsubstantiated allegations of high impact on the background radiation from units 5 and 6 and new unit;
• Significant safety margin due to the huge volume of end absorber (cooling water) – over 7 km of channels length;
• Transport for radioactive waste management (RAW) from the new nuclear power plant will be less than 1 km;
• Availability of a single RAW disposal facility near the site ;
• An ecological (radiation and non-radiation) monitoring system has been set up in the 30 and 100 km zone around Kozloduy NPP;
• There are systems for physical protection, fire safety, medical facilities and emergency planning (accident management centers);
• Training center with full-scale simulator in operation and highly qualified staff;
• Site 2 is not located in a Nature Park or other protected area and an assessment of the specific impact of the implementation of the investment proposal on biodiversity and protected habitats has been carried out;
• A cross-border impact assessment was carried out, which included Austria with an expert opinion confirming the adequacy of the assessment;
• The Kozloduy EIA procedure has been declared a good practice by the UN Commission;

The administrative act, approving the preferred site, completes the preparatory phase of the project for construction of new nuclear power at the Kozloduy NPP site and removes it from the probability hypotheses, making it a proven opportunity to continue the economic life of Kozloduy NPP with one or two new units with the technology alternatives considered in the project.