"We signed a contract with HSBC today. We hope they will provide us with the most urgent answers (regarding the feasibility of the plant) by June 1," Borisov said.

Earlier this week, Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said HSBC would be paid a fixed fee of 2.0 million euros ($2.9 million) plus an additional 0.95-percent commission on any external funding it could drum up for the plant.

Bulgaria picked the bank last November to review the 2,000-megawatt project, which has suffered long delays, and advise whether it should go ahead or be shelved completely.

Bulgaria contracted Russia's Atomstroyexport in 2008 to build two new 1,000-megawatt reactors at Belene to make up for the closure of four out of a total six reactors at another nuclear facility in Kozloduy.

The Belene reactors were initially planned to come on line in 2014.

But the withdrawal in 2009 of German utility RWE, which held a 49-percent stake in the project, as well as uncertainties about the plant's total cost and funding, have delayed the signing of a final contract.

Moscow and Sofia differed on the estimated cost, with Russia saying it could not build the plant for less than 6.3 billion euros, even though the initial amount was put at 3.9 billion euros.

Bulgaria, on the other hand, refused to pay anything over 5.0 billion euros.

Last week, Atomstroyexport and Bulgaria's National Electricity Company agreed on a halt of all work on Belene for three months in order to resolve outstanding cost and safety issues, with a final contract to be endorsed by June 1.

By that date, HSBC would have time to review the project, calculate the share capital of the project company, provide advice on possible credit lines and help draft the final agreements, minister Traikov said.

It will also be tasked with finding a new partner to possibly replace RWE, he added.

Bulgaria's state-run energy holding company BEH meanwhile signed on Wednesday a memorandum of cooperation with France's Areva on nuclear and renewable energy projects.

Areva, which helped Bulgaria upgrade its two remaining 1,000-megawatt reactors at Kozloduy, is already a subcontractor to Atomstroyexport in delivering safety and control systems for Belene.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said he was counting on the French company as a "strategic partner" to help defend Bulgaria's interests in developing nuclear energy while ensuring the highest safety standards, especially after the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis in Japan.

"Safety is our obsession at Areva," the company's chief executive Anne Lauvergeon said.

"And we need to see if we can have Belene meet perfectly all new safety standards to be adopted in Europe after Fukushima," she said, also calling for "a global re-evaluation (of nuclear safety standards) following the Fukushima accident."

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News