Director Ebong Travels to Bulgaria and Romania to Promote Clean, Secure Energy

Arlington, VA - U.S. Trade and Development Agency Director Enoh T. Ebong will travel to Bulgaria and Romania from July 20-24 to advance Southeast Europe's energy security and clean energy transition. In Bulgaria, Director Ebong will award a feasibility study grant to support the expansion of new cross-border electricity transmission infrastructure. In Romania, she will speak at an event furthering a USTDA-supported nuclear power project and join the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC).

"USTDA's portfolio in Eastern Europe will help deploy innovative nuclear power technologies and energy infrastructure that will benefit the entire region," said Director Ebong. "USTDA is delighted to create opportunities for U.S. companies to partner with Bulgaria and Romania on groundbreaking projects that these countries have established as their priorities."

In Sofia on July 22, Director Ebong will sign a grant agreement with Bulgaria's state-owned electricity transmission company, Elektroenergien Sistemen OperatorEAD (ESO) to advance new transmission infrastructure that will both ease the integration of new renewable energy sources and increase ESO's capacity to export electricity to neighboring Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, and Türkiye.

During the P-TECC meeting in Bucharest on July 24, Director Ebong will speak at an event to mark a milestone toward the implementation of a USTDA-supported small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant project in Romania. In 2021, USTDA funded technical assistance that resulted in the selection of U.S.-based NuScale Power as the provider of the SMR technology. USTDA, in collaboration with other U.S. agencies, subsequently awarded a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study to lay a roadmap for project implementation. USTDA's work on the project is one component of the Agency's civil nuclear energy portfolio in Eastern Europe.

USTDA's portfolio in Bulgaria and Romania advances numerous Biden-Harris Administration priorities, including the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and USTDA's Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure.

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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.

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