Bulgaria and the United States signed an Intergovernmental Agreement on cooperation in the field of Nuclear Energy
The Minister of Energy Rumen Radev and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs Andrew Light, signed оn February 12, 2024 an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation on the project to build nuclear power at the Kozloduy NPP site and the nuclear program for civil purposes of Bulgaria. The document is signed in implementation of a Decision of the National Assembly from January 2023 to conduct negotiations and conclude an intergovernmental agreement between Bulgaria and the USA for the construction of a new nuclear power plant at the Kozloduy NPP with AR 1000 technology. This is clear from the published announcement on the website of the Ministry of Energy.
According to the publication, Agreement includes concrete co-operation on the project to build new nuclear capacity at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant site, as well the supply of nuclear fuel, training and exchange of personnel and knowledge, legal framework, etc.
Both sides undertake to cooperate directly in the consultations and exchange of expertise and technical contributions with regard to the civil nuclear program of the Republic of Bulgaria, the identification of potential financing of the new nuclear capacity project, the research in development and deployment of innovative nuclear technologies, the development of expertise in spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management.
In addition, the agreement also covers cooperation on regulatory issues, based on the Agreement signed at the end of last year between the Nuclear Regulatory Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States.
A Steering Committee is set up to coordinate and manage the joint activities under the concluded Agreement. The document shall not create any financial rights or obligations for the parties, the announcement states.
BULATOM welcomes the signed agreement and the position expressed by the Ministry of Energy on the important role of nuclear energy in Bulgaria in ensuring national, regional and European energy security, providing energy at affordable prices and transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Let us recall that over the past few years our Association has repeatedly expressed its position regarding the need to ensure conditions for the sustainable development of Bulgarian nuclear energy – including through the construction of four new 1000+ megawatt nuclear units in the period until 2050 – of which two until 2035.