Russia's Rosatom Wraps up Upgrade of Bulgaria's Kozloduy NPP Unit 6

Russia's Rosatom Service said on Monday it has completed an upgrade of Unit 6 of Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) designed to extend its lifespan.

The modernisation of the 1,000-megawatt Unit 6 included the replacement of the stator of the turbogenerator with a new one as part of a planned increase in installed capacity to 1100 MW.

The planned annual maintenance of Unit 6 lasted from September 5 to October 27 when Unit 6 was reconnected to the grid.

Rosatom Service, part of Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, had signed a contract with Kozloduy NPP in 2013 for the supply of equipment and maintenance services needed for Unit 6.

Rosatom said last month that it had signed a EUR 24.7 M contract for modernization of Kozloduy's Unit 5. The project is expected to be completed in 2018.  

Bulgaria aims to extend the lifespan of the Soviet-made Unit 5 and Unit 6 of its sole nuclear power plant before their operational licences expire in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Bulgaria closed down Kozloduy's four older Soviet-made units 1 to 4 of 440 MW each before joining the EU in 2007 to address nuclear safety concerns of the bloc.

Bulgaria's Energy Ministry announced in July that Kozloduy will invest EUR 360 M in the modernization of units 5 and 6.