Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant
The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is Bulgaria’s only nuclear plant and the largest in Southeast Europe. It sits near the town of Kozloduy on the Danube River, about 180 km north of Sofia.
Construction began in 1970. The plant originally had four smaller reactors (Units 1–4, VVER-440/230), which were built in the 1970s and 1980s. As part of Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union, Units 1 and 2 were shut down in 2004, and Units 3 and 4 were shut down in 2007.
Today the plant has two operating reactors, Units 5 and 6 (both VVER-1000). They began operating in 1987 and 1991 and together provide about 2,000 MW gross (roughly 1,966 MW net). The plant’s overall nameplate capacity is 2,176 MW, and its capacity factor has been around 87% in recent years.
The plant stores spent fuel in two facilities. In the early 2000s, some spent fuel from the older units was moved to a Russian repository, and later a plan used storage casks at Kozloduy.
Ownership is by Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH). For years, there has been talk of adding a seventh unit to boost capacity and using Western technology. The Belene project to build a separate new plant was canceled in 2012, but discussions about Unit 7 and new fuel suppliers (such as Westinghouse and Framatome) have continued.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:37 (CET).