Bulgaria scraps plan for second nuclear plant
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Bulgaria has abandoned plans to build a second 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant on the Danube River with Russian firm Atomstroyexport, a top official said Wednesday.
After a government meeting, Vladislav Goranov, Bulgaria's deputy finance minister said the nuclear power plant will not be built in the Danube town of Belene but a natural gas power plant would be built there instead. He did not elaborate.
Goranov said one of the two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors already assembled by Rosatom subsidiary Atomstroyexport and originally meant for Belene will be placed in Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant, Kozloduy, boosting its capacity to 3,000 megawatts.
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On Thursday, Bulgaria's newly appointed Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev, is scheduled to travel to Moscow to talk to Russian officials about the decision.
Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's center-right government has repeatedly pledged to lessen Bulgaria's almost total dependence on Russian energy supplies.
Last December, Bulgaria dealt a blow to Moscow's plans to expand its energy sales in Europe, scrapping a $1.34 billion pipeline deal to carry Russian oil to Greece due to financial reasons.