nuclear-news

Dodgy deals, safety problems, in Bulgarian nuclear project

The cable also reports: “When Bulgarians talk about the Belene nuclear power plant, they increasingly do so in hushed tones. Issues of delays, financing woes, non-transparent horse-trading and side deals, Russian influence … and the interests of well-connected politicians and energy oligarchs inevitably come up.”...

WikiLeaks cables: Bulgarian nuclear project ‘dogged by safety concerns’,  The Guardian, Tim Webb, 20 December 2010 German firm RWE, which owns npower, bought 49% stake in project that cable claimed ‘reeked of side deals’ One of Britain’s biggest energy suppliers, which wants to build half a dozen nuclear reactors in the UK, helped develop one in Bulgaria which was “dogged by ongoing serious safety concerns”, according to leaked US diplomatic cables.

The German firm RWE, which owns npower and supplies electricity and gas to 6.7 million UK customers, bought a 49% stake in the project in December 2008 and quit as a strategic partner in October 2009. RWE said its decision to pull out of the troubled €7bn reactor project was due to the fact that “the project’s financing could not be finalised within the agreed period”. It said “safety issues were not a factor”.

But its involvement in such an apparently shoddy project, which the cables claimed “reeked of side deals” even before RWE bought the 49% stake, could hurt its reputation over safety and cast doubt on its judgment in selecting who to work with on reactor projects.

In December 2007, environmental groups including Greenpeace condemned the European commission’s approval of the project. Approval came despite the former Bulgarian nuclear regulator publicly calling for it to be blocked on safety grounds the month before…….

The cable also reports: “When Bulgarians talk about the Belene nuclear power plant, they increasingly do so in hushed tones. Issues of delays, financing woes, non-transparent horse-trading and side deals, Russian influence … and the interests of well-connected politicians and energy oligarchs inevitably come up.”…

WikiLeaks cables: Bulgarian nuclear project ‘dogged by safety concerns’ | World news | The Guardian

December 21, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Bulgaria, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Wikileaks