Enterprise Europe Network – Sector Group IE Meeting Belfast October 2016, Snapshot presentation of South-west Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends, Plamen Todorov.

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Snapshot presentation of
Southwest Bulgaria
renewable energy sector
and trends
SGIE meeting, Belfast, 11.10.2016
Plamen Todorov
BICC - Sandanski

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About us
Snapshot presentation of Southwest Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends,
11.10.2016
Association Business Information and Consulting Center – Sandanski is a non-profit
organization that was established in 1997. Member of Enterprise Europe Network since
2008., BICC is based in the town of Sandanski, a popular tourist destination located in a
cross-border region with Greece and FYROM.
Fields of specialization:
• Business support and consulting;
• Cross-border cooperation;
• Fostering cooperation initiative between local businesses;
• Financial and grant consulting;
• Business internationalization and emergence on European and Asian markets (e.g.
Russia and China);

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Target region: Southwest Bulgaria
Snapshot presentation of Southwest Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends,
11.10.2016
District of Blagoevgrad (Nuts 3)
Key Facts
Territory: 6452,3
sq.km
Population: 323 552
Key industries:
• Light industry;
• Tourism;
• Forestry;

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o Excellent RES potential
o The second region in Bulgaria with the highest
number of RES production installations;
o The renewable energy potential of the region has
been exploited under 1% (comparison between the
theoretical and the available energy production
facilities);
o Investments friendly environment
o Good infrastructure and logistics;
o Cross-border region;
Region of Southwest Bulgaria - snapshot
Snapshot presentation of Southwest Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends,
11.10.2016

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Region of Southwest Bulgaria - snapshot
o Solar
• More than 290 sunny days per year; 1550 kWh/m² (Solar
irradiance);
• Favorable landscape;
• 56 PVPs with a total installed power capacity of 16,5 MW;
o Biomass
• 60 % of the territory of the region is covered by forests (however no
available installations);
o Hydro
• 78 HEPs with more than 165 MW installed power capacities;
o Geothermal
• More than 28% of all thermal water resources in Bulgaria are
located in the region;
Snapshot presentation of Southwest Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends,
11.10.2016

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Renwable energy sector – snapshot and
trendso Unstable regulatory and legislative environment in the sector
;
o Chaotic expansion of solar investments (10 times over a
period of 2 years);
o Numerous retroactive taxes and additional burden for
investors;
o Variety of funding instruments for both private and public
investments;
o Energy efficiency support has quadrupled in the past several
years;
o Shifting towards decentralized energy production (at the spot
of consumption);
o Free electricity market and Independent Bulgarian Energy
Exchange;
o In practice the large scale investment in RES have ceased in
Snapshot presentation of Southwest Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends,
11.10.2016

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The emergence of decentralized energy
solutions- Enormous market potential;
- Various funding instruments;
- Lack of regulatory incentives;
Snapshot presentation of Southwest Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends,
11.10.2016
Low interest on bank deposits, as well as the increasing prices of property
make “domestic power plants” an attractive investment.
Large scale energy efficiency investments
- Energy efficiency for private homes, multi-family residential buildings,
businesses and public buildings;
- Variety of funding instruments– bank, public, grants, combined;

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Key players in the region of Southwest
BulgariaAssociations
o Alliance of the Producers of Ecological Energy – BG
o Cluster Renewable Energy Source – Bulgaria
Private companies
• Hydroenergy Company LTD;
• Avers LTD;
• Hydroenergy LTD;
Snapshot presentation of Southwest Bulgaria renewable energy sector and trends,
11.10.2016

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Association Business Information and Consulting Center – Sandanski
Part of Enterprise Europe Network Bulgaria
Contact us at:
office@bicc-sandanski.org
Or visit our web page at:
www.bicc-Sandanski.org
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