Bulgarian cooperation agreement for Areva
France's Areva has agreed to cooperate with state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) to develop clean energy projects in Bulgaria, including nuclear power plants.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Sofia yesterday by the two companies provides for potential cooperation in new nuclear projects at the existing Kozloduy and planned Belene sites. It also covers the elaboration of fuel management policies and solutions including used fuel recycling, as well as cooperation in the field of nuclear safety and related standards.
In a joint statement, the companies said that they intend to study cooperation in the development of scientific and technical potential regarding civil nuclear safety, including educational and training activities for improving the qualification of nuclear experts and exchange of experience.
Areva said, "As a long-time partner of the country, Areva intends to extend its contribution to Bulgaria's civil nuclear program and assist in developing local renewable energy sources such as biomass and wind."
Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon commented: "By strengthening Areva's cooperation with Bulgaria and offering nuclear and renewable energy solutions, we aim at supporting the country's policy for a safe, economically sustainable and CO2-free energy mix."
Jordan Georgiev, CEO of BEH, said, "With this memorandum, we set the base for our cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy, European nuclear safety standards, development of scientific and technical potential and renewable energy." He added, "We will create joint working groups in order to define concrete steps fro each of the cooperation items."
Bulgarian prime minister Boiko Borissov, who attended the signing ceremony, declared, "I am confident this partnership will contribute to boosting our civil nuclear program while developing our renewable energy potential."
Areva said that it has been working in Bulgaria for over a decade where it participated in the major modernisation project for units 5 and 6 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. More recently, it said, Areva has been involved in preliminary contracts for the Belene plant as a subcontractor to Russia AtomStroyExport, which has been awarded a contract in 2006 to build the plant.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
