The last major wind project in Bulgaria dates back to 2012. In recent years there has been no lack of interest in the construction of such parks. Yet, despite this, no new turbines have emerged. Simply put, bureaucracy and politics are doing their thing.
This barren patch could be overcome with a new record wind project of several hundred megawatts in the municipality of General Toshevo in Northeastern Bulgaria - the most suitable location in the country for the development of wind energy.
If there is ever a place favorable to the development of wind energy in Bulgaria, Northeastern Bulgaria ticks all the boxes. The region, which juts out slightly into the Black Sea, enjoys the best wind potential in onshore production. These investments can make the electricity market more balanced - wind farms operate at night and in winter, which runs opposite to many solar capacities.
For now, the region is also the center of (albeit) small wind farms built over a decade ago. But new projects have a hard time breaking through local communities with conflicting interests and green agendas.
New 400 megawatts
The breakthrough project could be run by "Wpd Wind 1" which covers the land slots of several villages in the municipality of General Toshevo, which is located in the Dobrich region.
It envisages two smaller projects being merged into a larger one. According to the initial plan, 70 turbines will be built, with a total power of 210 megawatts, but due to the technology of the sector in recent years, the same number of turbines can produce twice as much power.
Hence the plan of the German-owned company is to grow the park above 400 megawatts and so, in the next decade, become among the largest in the region.
Depending on inflation in the wind sector, the project may cost around 0.8-1 billion levs, and no state aid or preferential purchase of electricity is expected at this stage.
As of May this year, the project has a new investment proposal, for which the institutions must assess whether a new environmental impact assessment (EIA) is needed. It includes all the changes, including the new power and land rights.
"In Bulgaria there is a significant potential for the production of electricity from wind, and our task is to utilize the local resource in compliance with the best international practices and environmental standards. The development of the sector is a prerequisite for achieving a balanced and efficient electricity market, for the development of the network, as well as for the reduction of the country's energy and climate security risks. The investments we are planning in various regions of Bulgaria will help the economy by prioritizing the engagement of local companies and qualified workers from nearby settlements," says Martin Iliev, managing director of wpd in Bulgaria.
Old beginnings, ambitious future
The project originates from two smaller wind farms that were officially started more than 10 years ago but not seen through. Both Svoboda 1 and Mizia 1 had active detailed development plans (DDP) with 35 turbines each since before wpd Wind 1 began development of the overall project.
The Bulgarian subsidy of the German company does not own the land, but plays the role of the project developer, which must build and develop the park. A check of the register shows that the land plots are held by the company Pth Energy, which acquired them through an internal transaction from Encon Svoboda in 2019. The managers are Denitsa Nozharova and foreign citizen Werner Diewald, and the equity owner is another company that is related to them.
Often, with wind farms, not all the land on which the blades are placed is purchased or leased, since the distance between the turbines is large and the foundation itself takes up a small area, while the terrain around it can be used for other purposes such as agriculture.
The land that is located in the areas of the villages of Zhiten, Snop, Gradini, Pchelarovo and Dabovik is agricultural and until 2017 there was a decision to change the status, allowing for the construction of turbines. However, since nothing has been done for years, procedures were lost. According to experts familiar with the project, the land is now agricultural with an active DDP, which should more quickly open the doors purely administratively for construction.
From the environmental assessment of the project, it can be seen that the total area that is planned to be built with the foundations is 446 decares, which is equal to less than 1% of the total agricultural land of the municipality. Wind projects actually take up less space than appears, as the blades are spread several hundred meters apart.
Currently, an amendment is being negotiated for more land, as according to the old plan the turbines have a capacity of up to 3 megawatts, and now the company wants to increase the capacity to 10 megawatts, which also means larger turbines.
Sources close to the company said it was too early to say exactly which turbines would be used because "the geology has not yet been done to know what turbine is suitable".
Although it is not clear exactly what the actual capacity will be, the park will certainly need a new substation to connect to the grid, which will most likely be built by the investor and not by the Electricity System Operator. At the moment, the connection to the grid is pre-negotiated and is for 210 megawatts.
The investment
If implemented, the investment in a wind farm of similar size will probably be one of the largest in the region and certainly the largest in the history of the municipality of General Toshevo. Direct foreign investments in the small municipality were a little over 22 million levs in 2022, and the population is about 11, 000 people, of which over 30% are of retirement age.
The project for a 400 megawatt wind plant would cost more than 400 million euros, and according to various estimates of the wind projects in Europe at the moment, it may double. To a large extent, this depends on the cost of the turbines, which in recent years have experienced serious production problems and prices have been rising.
"It is unlikely that the project will be ready before 2030 - a part of it probably in 2028, but in its entirety it will be operational in the next decade", says one of the sources of KInsights. Funding is expected to be 100% private, with the new substation also included in the capital costs. It is still not clear what percentage will be through bank financing, but if we look at the solar boom in Bulgaria, it can be concluded that financial institutions will play an important role in supporting the projects.
Bulgaria is among the countries that has a large imbalance in terms of wind and solar capacities. Photovoltaic parks are already over 3,600 megawatts in the country, while wind parks are five times less. And in recent years, new wind farms have not entered into operation because of all kinds of problems - political, administrative and purely financial. For example, the Dobrotich Wind project, which is the largest in the country with a capacity of 519 mW, is facing serious hurdles in the nearby municipality of Vetrino. A whole movement composed of supporters of the tourist attraction Historical Park has tried to hinder the project, and caused the imposition of a local moratorium on wind turbines in the process.
Expectations are that wind energy will play a huge role in Bulgaria's energy sector, and for the moment it seems that offshore projects remain for the uncertain future.
The last major wind project in Bulgaria dates back to 2012. In recent years there has been no lack of interest in the construction of such parks. Yet, despite this, no new turbines have emerged. Simply put, bureaucracy and politics are doing their thing.
This barren patch could be overcome with a new record wind project of several hundred megawatts in the municipality of General Toshevo in Northeastern Bulgaria - the most suitable location in the country for the development of wind energy.
