Bulgaria’s wind energy capacity rises 24% to 607 MW in 2011 – EWEA

The cumulative wind energy capacity installed in Bulgaria rose by 24% and reached 607 megawatt (MW) in 2011, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) said.

In the 2007-2011 period, Bulgarian wind power capacity rose by a compound annual growth rate of 96.5%, which was the second highest among EU countries, outpaced only by Romania, EWEA’s recent report on wind power development in Central and Eastern Europe showed.

In 2011, there were five large wind energy project developers in Bulgaria, which jointly held nearly 60% of the total installed capacity, namely AES & Geo Power, a joint venture between AES and Bulgarian-German company Geo Power, Bulgarian renewable energy projects developer Eolica Bulgaria, Swiss energy company Alpiq, Italy's Enel Green Power and Austrian financial group Raiffeisen.

The vast majority of wind parks in operation are located near the northeastern city of Dobrich, with others in the south regions of Stara Zagora, Yambol and Burgas, which have an attractive wind potential owing to their proximity to the Black Sea coast and mountainous regions.

Bulgaria’s total installed capacity for renewable energy stood at 3,920 MW in 2011 and consists mainly hydro, wind and solar parks. The compound annual growth rate of the local renewable sector exceeded 9.7% over the 2007-2011 period.

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