SOFIA, BULGARIA, Aug. 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Westinghouse Electric Company today announced that it has signed a shareholder agreement following consultations with all Bulgarian political parties for the expansion of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant. This and subsequent agreements will be subject to future government oversight.
In the agreement, the Westinghouse AP1000® nuclear power plant was selected by Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH EAD), Kozloduy NPP plc and Kozloduy NPP-New Builds plc. These parties entered into exclusive talks in December 2013, following a feasibility study which was conducted under a competitive tender. Westinghouse will provide all of the plant equipment, design, engineering and fuel. Within the next year, Westinghouse will issue a competitive tender, in line with European Union (EU) and Bulgarian public procurement rules, for the plant construction. This process is expected to involve Bulgarian and global construction companies.
The AP1000 reactor is projected to be online by 2023, and is zero-carbon baseload power that meets EU and Bulgarian requirements of competitive and low-carbon energy for the following 60 years.
"We are pleased to take this next significant step with Bulgarian Energy Holding and Kozloduy NPP to provide Bulgaria and Europe with the globally-recognized, most advanced technology, the AP1000 nuclear plant design," said Danny Roderick, Westinghouse president and CEO.
Mr. Roderick added: "The AP1000 nuclear power plant will offer a unique combination of benefits to Bulgaria: unequalled safety, licensing and project certainty, job creation through sustainable localization and technology and fuel diversification, in line with EU policies and objectives. There are no other alternatives that deliver all of these important objectives and on this scale. The AP1000 reactor will create over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs in Bulgaria, as well as sustain jobs in the United States. The project also will facilitate dozens of Bulgarian-U.S. commercial nuclear and other manufacturing partnerships, and establish permanent academic and technology sharing and development."
The agreement is the latest demonstration that the AP1000 reactor is the technology of choice for the nuclear sector in Europe and globally. Westinghouse recently announced an agreement to supply three Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors to the NuGeneration Limited (NuGen) Moorside project in West Cumbria, U.K., in partnership with Toshiba and GDF Suez.
Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (TKY:6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse supplied the world's first pressurized water reactor in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa., U.S. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants, including more than 50 percent of those in Europe. AP1000 is a trademark of Westinghouse Electric Company LLC. All rights reserved.
Kozloduy NPP-New Builds plc is a subsidiary of Kozloduy NPP plc. Kozloduy NPP-New Builds plc was formed specifically for the purpose of undertaking the expansion of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant.
Kozloduy NPP plc (KNPP) is a subsidiary of Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD. KNPP has over 40 years of experience in building and safely operating nuclear power plants in Bulgaria. KNPP currently operates two VVER-1000 units, providing over one-third of Bulgaria's electricity supply.
Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH EAD) is a state-owned energy holding company in Bulgaria. BEH EAD's subject of activity is acquisition, management, assessment and sale of participations in trading companies, carrying out business activity in the fields of generation, production, transmission, transit, storage, management, distribution, sale and/or purchase of natural gas, electricity, thermal power, coals, as well as any other type of energy and raw materials for the production.
BEH EAD is a shareholding company with 100 percent state-owned participation. The Holding includes Mini Maritsa Iztok EAD, Maritsa East 2 TPP EAD, Kozloduy NPP EAD, NEK EAD, Electricity System Operator EAD, Bulgargaz EAD, Bulgartransgaz EAD and Bulgartel EAD.
Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD is one of the largest companies in the region, and national energy leader, whose assets as at 31 December 2012 amount to BGN 14.5 billion, group total revenue for 2012 amount to BGN 6.5 billion, the number of employees are of about 21,000 people.
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