Monitor newspaper: „Kozloduy's seventh unit has better chances than Belene„
The main advantage of the power plant site is the ready-made infrastructure.
The construction of the seventh unit on the site of the operating nuclear power plant in Kozloduy can be considered the most realistic, because the project for it is the most prepared, Valentin Nikolov, deputy chairman of the parliamentary energy committee, told Monitor. "Currently, the site for the seventh unit is waiting for a license from the NRA, and the agency has said that this will happen when the legal disputes on the appeals of environmentalists are over. Realistically, however, the NRA can do it in advance and we can immediately make the project and request a notification from Brussels accordingly," the MP added. According to him, the equipment for another new unit can be used in Kozloduy or sold. According to Nikolov, things may have to be updated again for the site in Belene, because the project from the non-nuclear part is morally outdated. "According to the European directives, any change in the project will have to request a notification from the EC," the MP believes.
„"The big advantage of the Kozloduy site is that the new power unit will use the existing electricity transmission network, which would otherwise become unnecessary in 30 years. In addition, a nuclear waste repository is also being built there," Nikolov recalled.
According to Ivan Hinovski from the Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum, the project to build a new unit in Kozloduy definitely has many advantages. In his words, the main thing is that the project is feasible. "It has the opportunity for corporate financing. The state will lose a lot from the project for a completely new power plant in Belene. Its possible implementation will collapse the budget and electricity prices will go up," Hinovski is categorical.
At a discussion held yesterday in parliament, experts discussed how beneficial the construction of a second nuclear power plant is for Bulgaria. Supporters of the project claim that by 2030, electricity consumption in our country will increase, and there will be a power deficit in neighboring countries, and for this, another 2,000 megawatts of power from the two reactors in Belene would be absolutely necessary. Prof. Atanas Tasev explained that the growth in electricity consumption will come mainly from an increase in the number of electric vehicles in our country, which will have to charge their batteries. Dimitar Kuyumdzhiev believes that the Belene project is impossible without the participation of the state with investment or by purchasing electricity as in the US power plants.
Alexander Nikolov from the Association "Energy Future for Bulgaria" said that in 2030, due to environmental considerations, 90% of the coal-fired power plants will be closed in the EU, and in Bulgaria - all of them, and for this there is a need for a new nuclear power plant to compensate for their lack.".
