Bulgarian opposition blasts plans to build new reactors

Bulgaria needs no more nuclear power plants but should focus instead on energy efficiency, the opposition Union of Democratic Forces party said on Friday. Bulgaria exported record amounts of electricity in 2011 and the existing units were not even working at half capacity, the party said in a declaration, as reported by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. On Thursday, Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov said the construction of a seventh unit at the Kozloduy NPP plant could begin soon. He said it was "wiser, cheaper and more logical" for Bulgaria to build a new reactor at Kozloduy, its only NPP, than to construct a new plant in Belene. However, the UDF argued that neither option would be reasonable at the moment. The government should first implement an energy modernization program, it said. Bulgaria will not need any new nuclear units until after 2025, when "hopefully, new and completely safe units will be available on the market," the UDF said.