Rezolv Energy, a company of UK-based investment firm Actis, has acquired a 229 MW ready-to-build solar project near the city of Silistra, northeastern Bulgaria. The project was acquired from YGY Industries, owned by Yavor Georgiev. The planned solar park will be Bulgaria's largest, set to generate 313 Gigawatt hours (GWh) per year or 13% of Bulgaria's solar energy output projected for 2023, Rezolv Energy said in a press release.
Though the project was launched more than 13 years ago, there are still some steps to be taken before it is commissioned. That concerns administrative procedures that will take at least a year and a half.
Construction plans
The future photovoltaic (PV) plant, named St George, will spread on an area of 165 ha on the site of the decommissioned Silistra airfield. Comprising close to 400,000 solar panels, the PV plant is expected to be completed in early 2025 and have a lifetime of over 30 years.
The park will be connected to the main 110 kV transmission grid via two independent lines of 6 km in total. The green energy it will generate will be sold to commercial and industrial users through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), Rezolv added.
"St George will help Bulgaria meet its renewable energy targets and contribute to its energy independence. Crucially, for the business sector, it will also enable us to provide highly competitive, subsidy-free clean power at a stable price for industrial and commercial users right across the country," Alastair Hammond, Rezolv Energy chief operating officer, said.
Investment
Some of the most important administrative procedures for the solar project have been already completed, such as obtaining an environmental impact assessment and a license. The latter however is for a capacity of 80 MW and will have to be re-issued for 229 MW, which will probably take several months.
A procedure is under way for the selection of an EPC contractor and some of the largest Bulgarian companies in the field are competing for it. The exact value of the investment in the future solar park is not disclosed but market assessments show it will top 230 million levs (117.6 million euro). In Hammond's words, Rezolv is backed with 500 million euro by Actis and was set up to build a large portfolio of wind and solar parks, as well as energy storage projects in Central and Eastern Europe.
The buyer
Rezolv Energy was launched last year by Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure. It already has more than 2GW of clean energy projects being prepared for construction in Romania, including the 1,044 MW Dama Solar project, which will become the largest solar plant in Europe once it is operational.
Hammond said Rezolv plans to develop a portfolio of 3.5 to 4 GW in the next three to five years. In his words, the company is open to other Bulgarian projects too - wind or solar - if they are large enough and if the terms are good.
Actis is a UK-based investment firm managing assets worth more than $15 billion. Its portfolio comprises projects mainly in the developing economies worldwide.
Rezolv Energy, a company of UK-based investment firm Actis, has acquired a 229 MW ready-to-build solar project near the city of Silistra, northeastern Bulgaria. The project was acquired from YGY Industries, owned by Yavor Georgiev. The planned solar park will be Bulgaria's largest, set to generate 313 Gigawatt hours (GWh) per year or 13% of Bulgaria's solar energy output projected for 2023, Rezolv Energy said in a press release.
Though the project was launched more than 13 years ago, there are still some steps to be taken before it is commissioned. That concerns administrative procedures that will take at least a year and a half.
