On Thursday, the Bulgarian parliament ratified the agreement concluded with the United States on the construction of two new nuclear reactors – 1,000 megawatts each – at the Kozloduy NPP, with an estimated cost of 15 billion dollars, the EFE agency reports, citing Agerpres.

149 out of 240 deputies voted for the agreement, representatives of formations considered pro-Russian voted against.

This agreement, which is part of Bulgaria’s new strategy to reduce energy dependence on Russia, was signed on February 12 by Bulgarian Energy Minister Rumen Radev and US Department of Energy Deputy Secretary of State Andrew White.

Earlier, in June 2023, Bulgaria signed an agreement with the American nuclear consortium Westinghouse on the construction of two new reactors. According to official data, the estimated cost of the project is about 15 billion dollars, of which 20% is state funding.

Both reactors will be commissioned in the middle of the next decade.

Built according to Soviet technologies in the 1970s, the Kozloduy station was initially equipped with 6 reactors. Four old and considered dangerous reactors were closed between 2002 and 2006.

The other two reactors, units 5 and 6, are currently operating and together supply 35-40% of Bulgaria’s electricity needs.

The plant, located on the banks of the Danube near the border with Romania, currently runs only on Russian nuclear fuel, but late last year Bulgaria also signed a deal with Westinghouse to buy nuclear fuel starting in mid-2018. current year.