Italy's Enel To Sell Wind Farms in Bulgaria

Italy's Enel will offer for sale its two wind farms in Bulgaria after agreeing to sell its 73% stake in a Bulgarian coal-fired power plant, it said on Monday.

"During the presentation of Enel's financial results for 2010 in London it became clear that Enel Green Power's wind farms in Bulgaria are also for sale and further growth in the Bulgarian renewable sector is not easy due to issues with the transmission grids, so the situation is not encouraging for new plants," the company told SeeNews in an email.

Renewable energy developer Enel Green Power, part of the Enel Group, set foot on the Bulgarian renewable energy market in 2008, following a deal with Global Wind Power Bulgaria, a subsidiary of Danish Global Wind Power, for the acquisition of the Kamen Bryag and Shabla wind projects, on the Black Sea coast.

Enel Green Power has few plants in operation and if the group has good opportunities, it will not hesitate to sell them on the markets, it added.

In 2009 Enel Green Power Bulgaria launched its first 21 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Bulgaria, in Kamen Briag. Last year it doubled its installed capacity in the country by adding another 21 MW plant, located in Shabla.

CONTOURGLOBAL PLANS IN BULGARIA

Earlier this month, Enel said it has agreed to sell the majority stake in Maritsa East 3 power plant, which it acquired in 2004, to U.S.- based ContourGlobal for 230 million euro ($324 million).

Bulgarian state-owned electricity grid operator NEK owns the remaining 27% of the 908-megawatt (MW) power plant. Located in southeastern Bulgaria, Enel Maritsa East 3 accounts for about 10% of the country's total installed capacity.

U.S. independent power producer ContourGlobal (www.contourglobal.com) said it expected to invest further in the Bulgarian power sector but did not elaborate on the size of the planned investments.

"Currently, we are evaluating multiple opportunities for development projects in the renewable sector, particularly in photovoltaic, throughout Bulgaria and expect to remain very active in this sector," the company said in a written statement to SeeNews.

It added that the acquisition of Enel Maritsa East 3 fited into its regional strategy, which sees southeastern Europe as a key market the company.

"Enel Maritsa East 3 is the natural extension of our activities in Kosovo, our participation in the bid for Negotino in Macedonia and other development activities. Furthermore, the acquisition of Enel Maritsa East 3 fits within our regional operating portfolio and presence in Romania, Greece, Ukraine, Poland and Italy and development in Austria and Serbia," it added.

($ = 0.7098 euro)

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