Cranberry Township-based Westinghouse Electric Company and Bulgaria’s ministry of energy recently signed a contract for Westinghouse to conduct safety analysis regarding the licensing of a new nuclear fuel assembly design compatible with the KNPP Unit 6 resident fuel design at the
Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).
“We look forward to further contributing to the energy independence and fuel diversification for Bulgaria, which is so critical to Kozloduy NPP,” Patrick Fragman, Westinghouse president and CEO, said. “We are also pleased about the continued progress on the project to build two Westinghouse AP1000 units at this site.”
KNPP is Bulgaria’s only nuclear power plant. Its units 5 and 6 supply approximately 33 percent of the country’s electricity and have a total installed capacity of 2 gigawatts. Upgrades and other modernization have extended the units’ operational lives by 30 years.
Westinghouse is the only fully Western option for water-cooled power reactor (VVER) nuclear fuel fabrication. Earlier this year, the company delivered the first reload of VVER-1000 fuel assemblies to KNPP Unit 5.
KNPP Unit 6 will meet Bulgarian Nuclear Regulator requirements. The contract ensures the unit will have fuel diversification.
Westinghouse’s technology is in nearly 50 percent of the world’s operating nuclear plants.