US company signs another deal in the region The Kozloduy nuclear power station in Bulgaria has two VVER-1000 PWRs in commercial operation. Image courtesy Kozloduy NPP. Oregon-based small modular reactor developer NuScale Power signed an agreement today with Bulgaria’s Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant New Build to evaluate the potential for deployment of NuScale’s SMR design in the Balkan country.

NuScale said that under the agreement it will support Kozloduy in carrying out studies and analyses including the development of a timeline for a feasibility study, a project specific cost estimate, and engineering, planning, and licensing activities.

Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant New Build is a state-owned entity responsible for the proposed construction of new nuclear capacity at the existing site of the Kozloduy nuclear power station on the Danube river in northwest Bulgaria.

In January 2021, the Bulgarian government approved a report on the possibility of building a new nuclear unit at Kozloduy, with completion possible within 10 years.

The report came after, the government gave permission for state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), which owns Kozloduy, to negotiate with US nuclear companies about expanding the Kozloduy station, including the option of deploying SMRs.

In August 2020, NuScale’s SMR design became the first of its kind to receive regulatory design approval in the US. The company said it could be ready to sell an SMR to its clients in 2027.

The NuScale SMR is a light-water reactor plant intended to supply energy for electrical generation, district heating, desalination, and process heat applications. It features a fully factory-fabricated NuScale power module capable of generating 60 MW of electricity using a safer, smaller, and scalable version of pressurised water reactor technology.

NuScale has already signed agreements with entities in the US, Canada, Romania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Jordan.

Date: Thursday, 18 February 2021
Original article: nucnet.org/news/agreement-signed-with-kozloduy-to-evaluate-smr-deployment-in-bulgaria-2-3-2021