The Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) is planned to be sited at the bank of the Danube River, which forms the border between Bulgaria and Romania. Technical design and construction works first started in the eighties, but the Bulgarian government halted the project in 1990 due to environmental protests and shortage of funds. In a surprise announcement by then Prime Minister and former Bulgarian king Simeon Saxe Coburg Gotha, the government put the Belene project back on the agenda in 2003.

The consortium of Russian Atomstroyexport, Areva and Siemens that won the tender for the design and construction of the NPP offers to build an AES-92 power station, featuring two units of 1000 MW light-water reactors (VVER 1000/B466) with a projected lifetime of 60 years. The construction contract has a value of approximately 4 Billion Euro within 5 years. Construction works were initially expected to begin in 2005, however, when the contract was signed in January 2008, a new date was set for before the end of that year, but this has again been postponed until 2010. Total costs of the project are estimated between 6 and 9 billion Euro.

The formal opening ceremony of beginning construction works at the Belene site took place on September 3rd, 2008. This appeared only to be a PR stunt and apart from removal of usable materials from the old project and the erection of administrative buildings and a visitors centre outside the fence of the power station, no construction has taken place so far. The first unit is planned to be constructed between early 2010 and December 2013, and the second unit between Summer 2010 and July 2014.

Financial consultant BNP Paribas conceded in spring 2009, it was not able to find interested investors for the Bulgarian 51%. The Bulgarian government then opened negotiations with the Russian government for a 3,8 Billion Euro loan.

It also poored 300 Million Bulgarian Leva extra capital in the Bulgarian Energy Holding with the explicit aim of being used for the Belene project. Greenpeace filed a complaint for illegal state aid to the European Commission, which is currently under investigation.

Also RWE has problems with the project. After heavy international public criticism in 2008, the company started to look for partners in order to dillute the risk. Electrabel / GdF Suez withdrew its interest in February 2009. Since then, RWE became the target of a strong public campaign to withdraw its part, culminating in open critique from some of its large shareholders during the 2009 AGM. The company announced not to invest a single Euro into the project before there was full clarity about the financing of the Bulgarian 51%, it promised to have full control over the quality of the project, commission new seismic studies and start talks with other possible partners to spread the risk. These include InterRAO from Russia, Fortum from Finland and two unnamed Swedish companies. RWE also announced it will not take any final decision on its participation in the project before the Bulgarian and German elections in Summer 2009.

Since around 2007, the right of centre Blue Coalition opposition party in Bulgaria has taken a critical stance towards the Belene project. The party expected to win the 2009 elections, right of centre GERB, announced it will not put any government finance into Belene. Analysts expect that when those two parties will form a government coalition after the elections in July 2009, the Belene project will be put on hold.

In 1981, the Bulgarian government decided to build six nuclear reactors of the VVER 1000/320 type near the small town of Belene in the North of Bulgaria. Construction started in 1985. When in 1989 the communist government fell, only the base-slab for two reactors, as well as the frame for one and reactor vessels and pressure vessels and piping for two blocks were finished.

In 1990, the Bulgarian Academy of Science published a "White Book" with the conclusion that the Belene NPP project should be dropped for economic, environmental and social reasons. The project was put on hold in 1991 and finally dropped in 1992 for environmental and economic reasons.

Bulgaria at that time ran six nuclear reactors: four of the VVER 440/230 type and two VVER 1000/320 reactors, all situated near the town of Kozloduy. The G7 top in Munich in 1992 called on Bulgaria to close the first generation VVER 440/230 reactors (Kozloduy 1 to 4), as close analysis showed these reactors can never be upgraded to a sufficiently safe level. Bulgaria agreed with this in the EU Accession negotiations, and closed the blocks Kozloduy 1 and 2 in 2002 and later the blocks 3 and 4 in 2006.

On 6 April 2003, Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha announced that the Belene NPP will be revisited – proposed are two blocks.

After a tendering procedure marred with allegations of corruption, a Russian / French / German consortium consisting of Atomstroyexport, Areva and Siemens signed a 4 Billion Euro contract for the delivery of two VVER 1000/B466 reactors in an AES-92 nuclear power station. The only other AES-92 power plant is under construction in India.

Bulgaria then looked for a strategic investor. It choose in the end RWE, after all other contenders with the exception of Electrabel / GdF Suez had withdrawn their interest because of corruption allegations or the feeling too much risk was involved. RWE was to get 49% of the project, while the state utility NEK was to hold a majority control of 51%.

During the following years, it became increasingly clear that the project is extremely risky, both for environmental reasons (the site has known strong earthquakes, one of which killed 120 people in the nearby town of Svishtov in 1977) and economic reasons. Financial advisor BNP Paribas had to concede in 2008 while it couldn't find any bank willing to lend money for the Bulgarian part of the project. Also bringing NEK together with other strategic energy assets like the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, Bulgargaz, one of the Maritza Iztok coal power plants and the Sofia heating company did not bring sufficient trust in the banking world. Bulgaria then decided to address Russian prime minister Putin on his offer to provide a 3,8 Billion Euro loan for the project.

RWE in the mean time came under heavy criticism in Germany from the public and several key shareholders for its participation in the project. It seeked to dillute its risk by trying to find other partners. Electrabel / GdF Suez withdrew its interest in early 2009. In late spring 2009, RWE announced it was talking with InterRAO from Russia, Fortum from Finland and two unnamed Swedish companies for participation in its 49%. It furthermore refused to invest any money into the project as long as there was no clarity about how the Bulgarian 51% was to be financed.

Although construction was planned to start in 2005, to date no construction work has taken place yet.