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Bulgaria

MARKET STRUCTURE

Bulgaria is approaching its RES-E target for 2010. Large-scale hydro power is currently the main source of RES-E, but its technical and economic potential is already fully exploited. Good opportunities exist for biomass, since 60 per cent of land consists of agricultural land, and about 30 per cent is forest cover. Bulgaria’s RES-E share of gross electricity consumption increased from 7.2 per cent in 1997 to 9.28 per cent in 2004.

KEY SUPPORT SCHEMES

RES-E policy in Bulgaria is based on the following key mechanisms:

• Mandatory purchase of electricity at preferential prices will be applied until the planned system of issuing and trading green certificates comes into force (expected by 2012).
• A Green Certificate Market is planned to be put in place from 2012. A regulation will determine the minimum mandatory quotas of renewable electricity that generation companies must supply as a percentage of their total annual electricity production. Highly efficient CHP will also be included under the tradable green certificate scheme. Under the green certificate scheme there will still be a mandatory purchase of electricity produced for production up to 50 MW.

Table I3: Actual Mandatory Purchase Prices, Determined by the State Energy Regulation Commission, Bulgaria

Notes: ¹Min prices: for the Federal State the obligation to purchase at a minimum price is on the TSO; for the regions the obligation is on the distribution system operator (DSO).
2Wind, fi rst 216 MW installed capacity: €107/MWh

FUTURE TARGETS

The RES-E target to be achieved in 2010 is about 11 per cent for electric energy consumption. The goal of Bulgaria’s National Programme on Renewable Energy Sources is to significantly increase the share of non-hydroelectric RES in the energy mix. A total wind power capacity of around 2200–3400 MW could be installed. Solar potential exists in the East and South of Bulgaria, and 200 MW could be generated from geothermal sources.