Bulgaria will connect between 1 GW and 1.5 GW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to the power grid this year, Electricity System Operator (ESO)'s central dispatch office director Dimitar Zarchev said.
This will bring the country's total installed PV capacity to some 4.5 GW, Zarchev said on Tuesday at an energy summit in Sofia, as reported by business news and market intelligence provider Renewables Now.
Bulgaria has nearly tripled its installed solar capacity from a little over 1 GW in 2020 to almost 3 GW at the end of last year, according to the Association for Production, Storage, and Trading of Electricity (APSTE).
At the same time, oversupply is seen to begin as early as March and is expected to lead to negative pricing, Zarchev said. The influx can be tackled by a market-driven approach, which is more sustainable than implementing production constraints.
The rise in solar energy also poses power grid challenges, prompting energy group Electrohold CEO Karel Kral to advocate for grid modernisation through flexible tariffs incentivising consumption during sunny periods.
Substantial investments in the development of the power grid will heavily rely on EU funds, Bulgaria's Energy and Water Regulatory Commission chairman Ivan Ivanov said. The administrative barriers to connecting new power plants, however, have mostly been eliminated, he added.
(SeeNews, February 21, 2024)
