Belene

Russian atomic power chief hails new plant in China

Monday, December 17, 2007

MOSCOW (Thomson Financial) - Russia and China will inaugurate an atomic power station in Jiangsu province on December 20, as Moscow steps up construction of such stations worldwide, a top Russian official has said.

The head of Russian atomic power station contractor Atomstroiexport, Sergei Shmatko, told journalists Russia was shaking off the stigma attached to its nuclear industry after the Soviet-era Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 and was in talks with European and Asian countries.

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Bulgaria To Start Building Belene Nuke in 2009 - Official

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

(Novinite) Bulgaria will be able to start construction works on the planned Belene nuclear power plant no sooner than 2009, the head of the country's nuclear regulator said on Monday.

The regulator is yet to rule on the technical details of the project and the proposed safety measures, said Sergey Tsochev, who chairs Bulgaria's Nuclear Regulation Agency.

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Environmental oranisations condemn EC opinion on Belene NPP

Monday, December 10, 2007

18:05 Mon 10 Dec 2007 - Rene Beekman

Environmental organisations Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth Europe, Urgewald, Bankwatch, WISE and the Bulgarian NGO coalition BeleNE! condemned on December 10 the European Commission´s (EC) favourable opinion on the Belene nuclear power project (NPP) in Bulgaria, a media statement by the organisations said.

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EU says favours new Bulgarian nuclear power plant

Friday, December 7, 2007

Fri Dec 7, 2007 2:13pm GMT

BRUSSELS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The European Commission gave a green light o the construction of a new, 4-billion-euro ($5.82 billion) nuclear power plant in Bulgaria with capacity of 2,000 megawatts, it said on Friday.

"The Commission has decided today to give a favourable opinion to the initiative of Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania (NETC) of Bulgaria to build a new nuclear power plant at the site of Belene," the EU executive said in a statement.

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Bulgaria Nuclear Debate Resumes

Friday, December 7, 2007

Sofia - Opponents of Bulgaria’s controversial planned nuclear power station at Belene have asked the European Commission to oppose its construction, according to Bulgarian media reports on Monday.Work on building two 1,000 megawatts reactors at Belene, near Bulgaria’s northern border with Romania, was initially approved in 1981, but the construction project was abandoned in 1990 when many communist-era investment projects were reviewed.

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Nuclear ambitions fan controversy in Bulgaria

Monday, November 5, 2007

SOFIA: As governments around the world struggle to secure energy supplies, cut carbon emissions and adapt to rising oil prices, Bulgaria has adopted an ambitious solution: Construct a new nuclear power plant, the country’s second, near the northern town of Belene, across the Danube from Romania.

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Bulgaria Doubles State Guarantees for Belene Nuke Construction

Monday, October 22, 2007

18 October 2007, Thursday

PM Stanishev (left) and Finance Minister Oresharski (right) have both backed the project to the hilt so far, and Bulgaria's low foreign debt allows the cabinet to underwrite the loans.

Bulgaria's cabinet decided on Monday to double the amount of debt it is willing to guarantee for the construction of the country's second nuclear power plant at Belene.

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BNP Paribas and Bulgaria's Belene

Monday, May 21, 2007

BNP Paribas (BNPP) won the first competition for financing Belene, reported ITAR-TASS on May 14. The bank said that, together with other partners, it would provide the 250 million euro loan needed to start construction.

BNPP defeated 10 other competitors in winning the tender for the funding. In April 2007, the National Electricity Company (NEC) announced the procedure on choosing a bank to give the first loan. The money is planned to be used for planning, acquisition of equipment and construction during the first year of the project.

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Our race is against time and bureaucracy, ASG power CEO says

Friday, March 2, 2007

Tirana, 2 March 07 (AENews) – "Bureaucracy and lose of time", were the main topics during a press conference held by ASG power today in Tirana. The company presented its plans to build a thermal power plant, a gas pipeline from Albania to Italy and other energy related facilities. The project is estimated to cost USD 2.3bn. This is the biggest investment in the whole of the Balkan region since the collapse of communism, according to the company.

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