A month ago, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) finally ruled that the moratorium on the construction of wind power turbines on the territory of the municipality of Vetrino is illegal. This ensued after the small municipality in the country's northeast vetoed wind turbine building months ago.
The judge justified his decision by saying that the development of renewables is a matter of national interest and local authorities should not hinder investments with national priority. However, the same local municipality is still trying to circumvent the decision of the court, which explicitly says that the moratorium should be formally reconsidered. But why? And who is the enemy?
Vetrino's authorities' disregard of the court decision has led to the partial freezing of the largest wind park project in Bulgaria - the company Dobrotich Wind wants to build a park with 519 megawatts within the small municipalities of Vetrino and Valchi dol. The estimated investment is valued at more than BGN 1 billion and, when implemented, it will increase the country's current capacity for wind energy by 50%.
Vetrino seems to be attempting to delay the overturning of the moratorium. However, such a step may turn out to be illegal and contravene the advice of the municipality's legal advisors. It also creates a precedent for certain municipalities making parochial decisions that care little for state policy and national goals, especially regarding large-scale energy projects. Vetrino would seem not to be opposed to all wind projects, but one project in particular, and the municipality is ready to go to the wire, using everything possible, to stop investors fulfilling it.
The biggest opponent of the large wind investment is the Historical Park amusement part which is situated in the area. And the municipality of Vetrino has been blocking the project for years now. The amusement park, which can also be labeled as a pyramid scheme, has indulged in a propaganda blitz to convince local communities to oppose the project.
Absurdly, as a consequence of this saga, one part of the investment project has been halted while the other part - in the neighboring municipality just a few kilometers away - has the go-ahead.
1 billion is not enough for Vetrino
With its decision in June, the Supreme Court ruled that the moratorium on wind plants in the municipality of Vetrino is void, i.e. the municipality does not have the right to take such a decision which is contrary to the national legislation. According to the same decision, the municipality has one month to vote once more on the moratorium, or cancel it.
However, at the last meeting of the municipal council, on July 10, municipal councilors decided that the mayor, Dimitar Dimitrov from GERB, should do a legal analysis before another vote. Thus, a new decision on the moratorium was not taken and pushed forward pending "legal analysis", meaning that the moratorium stays even though the court has ruled the opposite.
The immediate reaction of the investor Dobrotich Wind, part of the international company CWP, was to freeze out a part of the project. This means that the company will continue with building 58 of the 79 turbines originally planned and freeze the remaining 21 which have to be placed in the territory of the Vetrino municipality. Thus, nearly 25% of the project will be blocked until the legal paradox in the municipality of Vetrino is clarified.
Dobrotich Wind said the following: "We are sure that sooner or later the Municipality of Vetrino will free itself from the feudal grip of certain people and stop making decisions in violation of the laws introduced in the country. When this happens, Dobrotich Wind can resume its investment plans in full".
"Completely excluding the turbines from the Vetrino municipality would mean business uncertainty and questionable profitability of the project, because it would have to be started all over again," they told Capital weekly. This is because of the legal requirement that investment projects, depending on how many municipalities they cover, go through a ministry, municipality or regional administration.
CWP has found itself in a paradox in which the only obstacle to its large investment is a small municipality's lack of compliance with a decision of a higher judicial institution. Such practices are obviously devastating for the investment environment in the country, undermining its reputation and the possibility of attracting new companies.
The biggest wind project
The Dobrotich Wind farm project has been on the agenda since 2008, gradually growing from 35 turbines to 80. It is meant to be located in two small Bulgarian municipalities - Valchi dol and Vetrino. A partner to the local investor is CWP Europe - an international company that builds wind parks in Romania, Serbia and Australia.
After the investment intent expanded, topping BGN 1 billion, superstitions got in the way and the municipal council rejected the project. It became clear that farmers fear that the foundations of the wind park will disrupt agricultural life in the region - a strange statement given that the wind generators will occupy less than 1% of the arable land in the municipality, and another one has been built just a few kilometers away from the wind farm without any problems.
After new negotiations and public hearings, the project was stopped again, but this time at the behest of people around the Historical Park who led a civil movement accusing the wind blades of causing cancer and even a plague.
In July 2022, the Vetrino municipal council voted through a moratorium on the construction of any wind power - not only the proposed wind farm, but also if someone wanted to put a small generator on their home, for example.
Thus, the case reached the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), which on June 5 ruled definitively that the moratorium on the construction of wind power plants on the territory of the Vetrino municipality is illegal.
A month ago, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) finally ruled that the moratorium on the construction of wind power turbines on the territory of the municipality of Vetrino is illegal. This ensued after the small municipality in the country's northeast vetoed wind turbine building months ago.
The judge justified his decision by saying that the development of renewables is a matter of national interest and local authorities should not hinder investments with national priority. However, the same local municipality is still trying to circumvent the decision of the court, which explicitly says that the moratorium should be formally reconsidered. But why? And who is the enemy?
