Statements, Reports, Interviews

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The operation of nuclear plants comes much cheaper

Source: Pari newspaper, September 25, 2007

„The cost of the new thermal power plants is very high and is close the that of the nuclear power plants”, the Executive Director of the Bulgarian National Electric Company (NEK), Mardik Papazyan, says in an interview of 25 September 2007 for Pari newspaper.

According to Papazyan, due to the closure of Units 3 & 4 of Kozloduy NPP the nuclear power generation in Bulgaria has dropped with 23,5% compared to the same period of 2006. The increased generation of electricity by TPPs requires application of efficient measures for environment protection, which is to be achieved with the installation of flue gas desulphurization systems at Maritsa East 2 & 3 TPPs, as well as with the application of modern technologies in the construction of new thermal plants like Maritsa East 1 TPP. However, all these measures result in a rather high cost of the new thermal plants, approaching that of the nuclear plants.
“The very people are coming to the conclusion that nuclear has no alternative. Despite the large initial investment the cost for an NPP operation is much lower than that for other power generation plants. Also, the cost of the nuclear fuel is considerably more predictable than the cost of the coal, used by the thermal power plants”, the NEK Executive Director stated. Talking about environmental hazards from an NPP he pointed out that: “All accidents in an NPP are considered in its design. The safety rules are rigorous. It is for these reasons that the initial investments are so high”.
Papazyan believes that “there should be also construction of electricity generating capacities from renewables. The point is that they are very expensive and in the long run it is the consumer who should pay for this. This is the reason why our selling price to the high voltage consumers has jumped up with more than 30%”.
The idea that electricity generation from NPPs is one of the most economical is supported also by Lubosh Pavlas, CEZ regional manager for Bulgaria. In his opinion, quoted by Pari newspaper, it is safe because of the independent protection systems used there, which limit the accident occurrence probability.

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