It is very difficult to imagine that in the next 10-15 years there will be wind farms in the offshore areas of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, says Nikola Gazdov, chairman of the Association for the Production, Storage, and Trade of Electricity (APSTE).
– Mr. Gazdov, given that there are major difficulties in building an electricity transmission network and facilities on land in Bulgaria, how will this aspect of the investment process for offshore areas be overcome, given that it is planned to develop territories 20 km out to sea?
The problem is not technical. The problem is rather regulatory. There is no administrative regime for the development and construction of wind farms in the offshore areas of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. I do not see how such projects will be possible in the next 10 years at least. In countries such as England, Australia, and North America, which have much more experience with this type of park than Bulgaria, the process takes an average of 13 to 16 years. But there is a legal and administrative framework in place there. Here, we do not have such a regime, and it is very difficult to imagine that there will be wind farms in the country in the next 10-15 years.
Everything related to connection, all kinds of procedures, EIA, and others, which are also a problem for onshore wind farms, will be challenges for offshore ones too, when there is a regime allowing their development.
However, there is another challenge for the development of offshore farms, and that is the military situation in the region. How would the construction of wind farms on the external border of the EU and NATO affect security and the ability to control air and sea space?
I don’t see this as a serious problem. Yes, there are constant problems of all kinds related to Russia’s war against Ukraine. But even in Ukraine, which is under attack and has to fight for its existence, new wind projects are being implemented, unlike in Bulgaria. There are several hundred megawatts of renewable energy capacity installed in recent years by international and local investors. This can happen despite the undoubtedly many difficulties and challenges associated with the war situation.
How many years do you think it will take to complete full wind and biological studies in the marine area in situ, and who will finance the enormous costs of these studies?
The costs will be financed by investors who have some investment intentions. It is difficult for me to say how long it will take, but we see that onshore wind farms, which should be significantly simpler to develop and implement, take between 5 and 8 years in Bulgaria. So it is logical that the period for offshore wind farms will be much longer.
Why is the focus still on large facilities and parks – solar and wind? And what about the diversification and development of family and micro solar and wind power plants?
In recent years, investment in renewable energy has been revived thanks to industry. Electricity consumers in Bulgaria, large enterprises, as well as small and medium-sized ones, have found that it is much more cost-effective to produce electricity on site, on the roofs of enterprises, in yards, and on adjacent land. In this way, they have reduced their dependence on volatile markets and improved their competitiveness. There are no longer any subsidies for renewable energy sources. New wind and solar projects must sell their electricity on a market basis. And they can do so because electricity from the sun and wind is extremely cheap, cheaper than other alternatives.
Why households do not have so many RES projects is a good question. It is too often linked to trivial issues, such as how complicated it is to develop such projects administratively. We must note that in recent years, the administrative burden for small projects has been reduced. But it is still an investment that requires participation. Investments in home systems are more complex because there is no qualified personnel. There are procedures that need to be followed, which have been significantly reduced in recent years, but they still exist.
What needs to happen is for the state to work with commercial banks to develop a simplified mechanism for financing such projects. Just as it is easy to obtain a consumer loan at present, a similar standardized product should be developed with commercial banks for small RES. The state could also participate as a guarantor in such a financing scheme. This would make it extremely easy for households to obtain financing for a small rooftop solar system and an energy storage system. This should be so easy that when you walk into the bank, you can walk out half an hour or an hour later with a confirmed loan. Then households will be even more active in making such investments.
– How does the Association for the Production, Storage, and Trade of Electricity (APSTE) intend to support the process of diversification and balanced equality between large and family-owned micro-power plants?
For years, we have been working to simplify procedures for small, medium-sized, and large projects alike. We believe that all segments are important. If we are currently seeing more projects in the industrial segment, it is because the motivation there is very strong. Companies are obliged to reduce their electricity bills in order to be more competitive. Solar and wind energy help them to do this. But companies have qualified staff, experts, and experience in structuring financing. They are very important because both solar and wind energy require investment in equipment. After that, the primary resource, figuratively speaking the fuel, is free. The sun is free, the wind is free. The big obstacle at the beginning is to make the capital expenditure. For households, the financing process needs to be simplified, just as the administrative burden has been successfully reduced in recent years.
– What is your opinion on net metering? Will APSTE be among the drivers of legislative changes for the introduction of net metering in Bulgaria?
With the advent of increasingly cheaper energy storage batteries, this will not be so necessary. This is because batteries will help us when we generate electricity on our roofs but do not consume it at that moment because we are away from home. This will make us much more independent from electricity suppliers. We will be much better able to cope with challenges.
With the advent of increasingly cheaper energy storage batteries, this will not be so necessary. Because batteries will help us when we generate electricity on our roof but do not consume it at that moment because we are away from home. This will make us much more independent from electricity suppliers. We will be much better able to cope with challenges if the power supply ever fails and we generally have low-cost home-generated electricity.
– Regarding the growing tension around the construction of photovoltaic and wind power plants in forest areas, what is your opinion – do RES have a place in forest areas?
First, we must say that this is a huge exception. It is being exaggerated by an aggressive information campaign, relying on facts, half-truths, and outright lies. But this is a huge exception. Photovoltaic power plants are not built in forests. There are, of course, future projects for wind farms that partially affect forest areas. By law, in such cases, compensatory reforestation must take place. Simply put, for every tree cut down, 3-5 new ones must be planted. In other words, there must be compensation that far exceeds the number of trees cut down.
