Minister Malinov at Powers Summit 2024: Bulgaria is a strategic factor in the transport of green energy
“Bulgaria will continue to be an indispensable factor in the transport of green energy, and the support from our international partners proves it. We must take advantage of our key geographical location and climate conditions so that strategic energy projects do not miss us." That is what Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov told participants at the fourth meeting of the institutions and the business Powers Summit 2024. He mentioned the Green Corridor as an example and assured that our country was working consistently to join the project. “In this way, the region will benefit from green energy at more affordable prices,” the Energy Minster added.
The Minister of Energy fully agreed with the view of the representatives of the industry organizations involved in the discussion that no social policy should be pursued through energy. This will enable the process of liberalization of the electricity market and the definition of the energy poverty groups,” he explained. Minister Malinov welcomed the initiative to set up an inter-ministerial working group on the liberalization of the electricity market at the Council of Ministers, with the participation of the Energy Commission to the National Assembly.
“A sustainable increase in the share of renewable energy in our market also requires rapid decisions on how to store it. Our announced measure RESTORE of the Recovery and Resilience Plan has generated enormous investor interest in building modern storage facilities. 151 proposals totalling nearly BGN 5 billion were submitted and the grant amounted to almost EUR 1 billion,” Minister Malinov recalled. "Contracts with beneficiaries will be concluded in the first quarter of the following year and an additional financial resource will be sought. If all investment proposals are serious, we will provide the market with 8-9 thousand MWh of storage capacity,“ Minister Malinov said. With regard to the other investment promotion measure, for RES and batteries, the first contracts with beneficiaries will be concluded by the end of the year and the second part by January, he added.
During the event, the Energy Minister held a bilateral meeting with the Executive Director of the Joint Undertaking, who will implement the Green Corridor project, Mr. Farhad Mammadov. Malinov reiterated Bulgaria's position to participate in the joint venture to implement the project, which provides for an underwater cable to transport renewable energy from the Republic of Azerbaijan to Europe.
Minister Malinov also spoke with Anders Risberg, Head of Unit for Central and Southeastern Europe at the European Investment Bank. They discussed progress in implementing the feasibility study for the construction of the existing Batak and Dospat HPPs. In the words of the Energy Minister, this is one of the most sustainable energy storage technologies and our country expects the study to be finalized in the middle of next year.
