Bulgaria to hold talks with US cos over new nuclear reactor

SOFIA, Oct 14 (Reuters): Bulgaria's government gave state-owned energy firm Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) a green light on Wednesday to start talks with US companies on plans to build a new nuclear reactor at its Kozloduy power plant, the energy minister said.

Temenuzka Petkova said the Balkan country is looking to build a new reactor to boost energy security and move towards less polluting methods of electricity production in line with the European Union's goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said the new reactor should be based on US technology and allow diversification in nuclear energy.

"The government gave a mandate to BEH to start negotiations with US companies that develop nuclear technologies, to study the options for the building of a new reactor at Kozloduy," she told reporters.

Petkova did not name the companies that would be involved in talks, but said they were developers of nuclear technology, including those who work on small modular designs.