Nuclear Power in Bulgaria served to reduce the country's reliance on the import of fuels. Bulgaria, however, lacked the necessary infrastructure for the development of nuclear power. Technical knowhow and equipment were provided by the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. After overcoming the initial obstacles, nuclear power topped Bulgaria's priority list in the development of its energy policy as it felt the need to curb the mounting pollution levels generated by the coal burning plants. Moreover, it did not possess adequate financial resources to purchase oil. The setting up of the first nuclear power plant at Kozloduy on river Danube in 1974 was a watershed event and was to have tremendous repercussions on the life of the country. The project aimed at establishing a four reactor complex in 1982 and was followed by a fifth and sixth unit, the latter been established in 1989.
Bulgaria emerged as the third nation in the list of the countries in per capita nuclear power generation. However, the Bulgarian nuclear power industry had its share of problems too. The unit at Kozloduy experienced frequent technical snags. The fifth unit was also plagued by its own share of technical problems. Most of the times it was due to the poor quality of the equipments that were imported from Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union. The Chernobyl disaster shelved up plans for establishing a second nuclear power complex in the face of stiff public opposition. The Kozluduy plant was declared unsafe and subsequently shut.
