Bulgaria’s state-run utility needs BGN 1.1bn to hook up renewables

(ADPnews) – Oct 12, 2010 - Bulgaria’s state-owned power utility NEK needs BGN 1.1 billion (USD 781m/EUR 562m) in grid investments to be able to connect around 2,000 MW of clean energy projects, according to an analysis of the Bulgarian Energy Forum (BEF) commissioned by the company.

Under its EU commitments, Bulgaria should source 16% of its gross energy consumption from renewables and boost energy efficiency by 20% by 2020.

“We’ve estimated that NEK will need BGN 1.1 billion to plug in 1,500 MW of wind farms and 500 MW of photovoltaic (PV) power plants,” said energy expert Ivan Hinovski.

Inquiries have been submitted about available grid capacity for a mind-boggling around 14,000 MW worth of potential wind and PV power plants but just around 2,000 MW of this could be constructed and grid-connected, according to BEF.

“The 14,000 MW figure includes also people who own a small lawn they want to install a PV system on,” Hinovski noted.

The energy generated from some renewable sources is intermittent, and experts claim a further 400 MW of hydro power projects will be required as back-up capacity. “These facilities have already been established,” the experts said.

According to the analysis, the government is taking no action at the moment to accelerate the process of increasing Bulgaria’s energy efficiency. “Around BGN 4 billion will be needed to beef up the energy efficiency of 80,000 homes but we can’t how this is going to happen by 2020,” Hinovski said.

(BGN 1.0 = USD 0.710/EUR 0.511)

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