The sharp increase in electricity consumption due to artificial intelligence, data centers and industry makes the development of nuclear energy inevitable, believes the President of the Bulgarian Atomic Forum - BULATOM, Eng. Bogomil Manchev, in an interview to bulgarian media.
Manchev defined nuclear energy as a "strategic sector for the future of the Bulgarian economy" and stated that the country must now prepare the specialists who will work in it in the coming decades. "Nuclear energy is not an end in itself, it is an important part of our economy and there should be a lot of young people there, because, as you know, especially new generations of reactors "live" for 60 years. Because of this, we need to have some prepared generations so that they can use them reliably and safely in the future in the service of the population," he pointed out.
New capacities
According to Manchev, Bulgaria needs to build a stable energy base on which to develop other technologies. "We strongly hope that with the efforts we are making, we will be able to implement the new capacities on schedule," he said.
According to the President of BULATOM, until recently the main driver was the transition to a low-carbon economy, the electrification of industry and transport. Today, however, the picture is different: "It is doubled, even tomorrow as the necessity from the point of view of the emergence of the necessity for the development of data centers for artificial intelligence".
"I think the construction of data centers, gigafactories, and production capacities for new technologies is forcing more countries to rethink their nuclear energy policies. The world is turning its attention to nuclear energy, which is currently the only technology known to mankind that can build power plants with a clear output of how much energy they can produce and with what carbon footprint, and this is the lowest known of all types of energy production at the moment," Manchev commented.
According to the President of BULATOM, nuclear projects with investments for generations to come. "These projects are designed for a 60-year normal operating life, with the possibility of an extension of up to 20 years," he noted.
Bulgaria needs 4 new reactors by 2052
According to Bogomil Manchev, our country cannot remain aloof from global processes and needs to plan the development of the energy sector with a horizon of decades ahead. "It is not from the Bulgarian atomic forum that we are convinced that Bulgaria cannot remain isolated from the world and this trend of a sharp increase in energy consumption." We believe that Bulgaria should wake up by 2052 with four new nuclear reactors."
In this context, he also drew attention to the Belene site, which, according to him, continues to be a strategic asset for the country. Manchev described it as "fortunate" that Bulgaria has another licensed nuclear site, which, despite the changes regulatory and technical requirements continue to meet the basic parameters for the development of a future nuclear project.