Bulgaria approved the construction of its first two nuclear reactors in the US on Wednesday, further distancing itself from Russia, on which the country was heavily dependent for energy before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, AFP reported.

Kozloduy nuclear power plant, BulgariaPhoto: Agerpres

According to a government press release, they will be of the AP1000 type, a technology developed by the American company Westinghouse.

These two reactors with a total capacity of 2,300 megawatts (MW) will be built at the Kozloduy NPP (in the north of the country, near the border with Romania), “the first by 2033, and the second in two to three years.” later is too late,” said Prime Minister Mykola Denkov.

Two Russian units No. 5 and 6 of the VVER type with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts each are currently operating at the station. They have a renewable license until 2027 and 2029 and provide more than a third of the country’s energy.

The four oldest reactors were shut down for safety reasons before Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007.

On Wednesday, the government allocated a tranche of 500 million leva (250 million euros) to start the project. The new reactors are to replace coal-fired power stations due to close by 2038, under commitments made by the government under pressure from Brussels to exit the polluting industry.

Another nuclear power plant project on the Danube, at Belene, west of Kozloduy, was abandoned permanently in 2021 due to cost and profitability issues, although Moscow has already delivered two reactors.

Bulgaria, which was almost entirely dependent on Moscow for energy issues before the conflict in Ukraine, has intensified its resource diversification strategy in recent months.

In this regard, in mid-October, Sofia introduced an exceptional tax on Russian gas passing through its territory on its way to Hungary and Serbia, which caused displeasure in those two countries.

According to the government, this measure is designed to “reduce the profits” of the Russian giant Gazprom, “and therefore the money that goes into the Kremlin’s coffers to finance the war in Ukraine.”