The Varna TPP has signed a contract to install two gas-fired units while the Bobov Dol TPP plans a conversion to gas and hydrogen 0 Thermal power plant (TPP) Varna decommissioned three coal-fired units with an installed capacity of 630 MW in total in 2017 as it replaced them with three equivalent gas units Varna TPP has signed an agreement with three Russian companies for gas units Varna TPP said it signed a contract with three Russian companies – Rakityanski Armaturny Zavod Trubnaya Metallurgicheskaya Kompaniya and Atomenergomash for the reconstruction of the plant using Siemens technology The transformation plan comprises the construction of two combined cycle power units on the site of old units 1 2 and 3 and the ability to include hydrogen with a share of up to 30% The investment is estimated at EUR 450 million Total cost of the project is estimated at EUR 450 million while the units are expected to be online in 2025 The power utility is owned by logistics company Sigda which acquired it from Czech energy group ČEZ in 2018 owner of the Bobov Dol thermal power plant said it would switch it to natural gas and hydrogen and the new gas units are planned to be online by 2025 TPP Bobov Dol intends to stop burning waste Be the first one to comment on this article 02 May 2025 - The project is located in Constanța county recognized for its superior yields in green energy production 02 May 2025 - The Sunčana (Sunny) Vipava project envisages installing solar power plants with a combined capacity of 20 MW 30 April 2025 - OMV put into operation its 10 MW green hydrogen plant at the Schwechat refinery 30 April 2025 - It is the second time this year that MVM contracted gas-fueled and hydrogen-ready power plants at sites of former fossil fuel facilities © CENTER FOR PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2008-2020 website developed by ogitive coal-fired Bobov Dol power plant in Bulgaria is preparing to build a 100 MW photovoltaic unit for a hydrogen project 0 Shutting down the coal-fired plant would also mean the loss of hundreds of jobs The privately-owned facility has received a permit for the construction of a photovoltaic plant of 100 MW, which is envisaged to power electrolyzers that would produce green hydrogen, Chief Executive Officer Lyubomir Spasov told the country’s public broadcaster BNR.  The plant currently uses coal and biomass from straw in its two units of 300 MW each Spasov estimated the investment at more than EUR 51 million Bobov Dol currently uses coal and biomass from straw The solar power plant will be built on 140 hectares at the thermal power plant’s former slag dump near the village of Kamenik The contractor for the delivery of solar panels construction and other works has been selected and the contract should be signed soon The start of the project’s implementation is scheduled for November and it should be completed by 2025 Bobov Dol is also planning to begin using gas as a transitory fuel in the switch to clean sources Spasov earlier said the plant would be connected to a pipeline going to North Macedonia by the end of the year A combined heat and power turbine with an electricity production capacity of 180 MW is required for the project The CEO said the unit would run on an equal mix of natural gas and green hydrogen The company has faced legal challenges for allegations that it burned waste illegally Toplofikatsia Pernik from the city of Pernik a producer and supplier of heat and electricity and district heating recently said that it is working to replace coal with natural gas and biofuels “There is evidence that certain people in high public positions have been opening a protective umbrella over the falsification of data regarding greenhouse gas emissions or have at least failed to probe shady deals,” Todor Galev from the Centre for the Study of Democracy said in an interview with Lora Tarkoleva from the BNR’s Horizont channel As Bulgaria’s General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and the State Agency for National Security under the supervision of the European Prosecutor's Office launched a probe into TPPs and heating plants in this country the European Public Prosecutor’s Office wrote: “The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Sofia has been carrying out dozens of searches and investigative measures in a probe into possible fraud regarding the EU Emissions Trading System with losses of millions of euro to the EU and national budgets A private company responsible for verifying the greenhouse gas emissions of thermal power plants and heating plants in Bulgaria is under investigation for allegedly submitting falsified reports to the competent national authorities.” Since 2017 “the company knowingly submitted false data and documentation for the annual reports on greenhouse gas emissions produced by thermal power plants and heating plants in Bulgaria in order to under-declare their emissions output.” Former Environment Minister Borislav Sandov commented that there is patronage and people occupying mid- and high-level positions in state administration as well as people exercising control who have been performing mixed functions together with these same enterprises “In the 45th National Assembly (which only lasted from 15 April 2021 until 11 May 2021 – editorial note) there was a commission of enquiry to investigate certain reports,” Todor Galev explains “There was one such report of a direct link between the laboratory monitoring Bobov Dol Thermal Power Plant and the proprietor of the TPP The thermal power plants connected with Hristo Kovachki have been under-declaring emissions I very much hope the European Public Prosecutor’s Office will do the job the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office hasn’t.” As the investigators asked to be provided additional documentation and to further question staff members denied any concealment or false greenhouse gas emissions data adding this would be proven during the probe by the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and the State Agency for National Security The probe at Bobov Dol aims to establish whether the TPP has been burning a sufficient amount of biomass to reduce greenhouse gas emissions CEO of the heating plant in Veliko Turnovo has also denied any wrongdoing It is possible to cover some of the tracks but adds that it is impossible to conceal the bulk of this information “These are official documents which have been published quite a few of the enterprises connected with Kovachki started under-reporting greenhouse gas emissions data This was first reported by an international consortium of investigative journalists in 2021 and the data was handed over to a commission of enquiry “This report was investigated but the investigation came to nothing because soon after the parliament was dissolved and snap elections followed,” Todor Galev says You can’t have enterprises with unclear ownership that are key to the energy industry “We are talking about more than 10 enterprises including heating plants in several cities Hundreds of thousands of people depend on them for heating.” “The most recent National Assembly approved a decision obligating the government to renegotiate the Recovery and Resilience Plan as regards the section connected with the closure of coal-fired TPPs that the first power plants that should be closed are the most polluting plants and they are the plants connected with Kovachki,” Todor Galev says further In his words all kinds of legal tricks are being used to capture the institutions According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office 2022 annual report the EPPO is conducting 143 active investigations in Bulgaria with estimated total damages amounting to EUR 492.6 million Compiled and translated from Bulgarian by Milena Daynova  Only on the Day of Bravery and Holiday of the Bulgarian Army (May 6) we will provide our visitors with the opportunity to enter three of perhaps the most interesting machines from our outdoor exhibition Dozens of enthusiasts and nature lovers will kick off the 44th edition of the Move and Win campaign with a spring hike to Bozhur Hut The meeting point will be the Vladishki Bridge in Veliko Tarnovo The third edition of the Samardala Festival will be held on 3 May in the central square of Nova Zagora is used as a spice and is harvested at the peak of its flowering in May we will provide our visitors with the opportunity to enter three. english@bnr.bg The Administrative Court in Kyustendil announed its final confirmation of the fine imposed on TPP “Bobov Dol” AD in the amount of 100 000 BGN The penalizing decree by the Director of RIEW - Sofia is in connection with a report for a violation under the Environmental Protection Act following an extraordinary inspection carried out in March 2022 During the inspection it was found that the company had not fulfilled a mandatory condition of its complex permit as a result of which no measures had been taken to limit the emissions of particulate substances in accordance with the requirements of the Ordinance on emission limits for harmful substances released into the atmosphere from objects and activities with stationary emission sources the court has confirmed fines imposed on TPP “Bobov Dol” amounting to 704 000 BGN Coal plants in Bulgaria have halved output as renewables and gas power are cheaper and due to CO2 emission costs and pollution control 0 coal power won’t last long and it may jeopardize the security of energy supply But the European Union doesn’t allow subsidies in the sector Production at Maritsa East 3 was halted on February 21 as the contract with National Electricity Co (NEK) expired and switched the facility to the open market The state-owned utility is a minority owner Shtonov denied there would be any kind of a shutdown “We believe it is our duty to keep the plant operational until we successfully execute our strategy to transition to lower carbon electricity production,” the CEO stressed He argued that electricity prices are low mainly because of cheap gas in the region so importing from Romanian and Greek gas power plants is more cost-effective The management expects production to be resumed in the second half of the year ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 is planning to build an 80 MW solar power system 3.5 kilometers from the thermal power plant Other operators, state-owned utilities and the government are preparing decarbonization projects as well The other factors taking coal plants in Bulgaria below water include the costs of carbon dioxide certificates within the European Union’s Emissions Trading System and strict pollution protection rules Investors are losing confidence and hesitate even to finance smaller overhauls and upgrades The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR) has found that electricity production dropped 22% last year The biggest plunge was in the coal power sector Hydropower production fell 21% while solar power surged 141% the latter came in at just 1.56 TWh out of 35.9 TWh The Electricity System Operator (ESO) expects almost 15 GW of solar power capacity to come online by 2033 According to its report for the period through March 24 electricity production tumbled 17.5% since the beginning of the year on an annual basis Stara Zagora Mayor Zhivko Todorov said there isn’t even a short-term solution for state-owned thermal power plant Maritsa East 2 and Maritsa East Mines (Mini Maritsa iztok) warning that they don’t have any more money the local administrative court revoked the 2019 derogation for Maritsa East 2 The Executive Environment Agency issued it to circumvent sulfur dioxide and mercury emission rules The facility is already using just 30% of its 1.6 GW capacity it will enter the open market on July 1 and so will all the household consumers Bobov Dol ceased production once again last weekend In addition to not being able to compete in the market The private coal plant is investing EUR 250 million in solar power Neighboring Serbia is about to complete its Kostolac B3 coal plant and it may be the last one in Europe Experts from the West Aegean Basin Directorate - Blagoevgrad and the Regional Laboratory of the EEA in the city carried out an inspection on a signal by fishermen for pollution of the Struma River the polluted area is located near the bridge to the village of Pokrovnik in the Municipality of Blagoevgrad Upon examination of an area with total length of about 25 km along the Struma River and its tributaries Rilska and German the inspectors found that the waters are cloudy and the source of pollution is TPP “Bobov Dol” The pollution of the Struma River occurred through the river Razmetanitsa which is a left tributary of the Struma River where wastewater from the activities of TPP “Bobov Dol” EAD is discharged according to which it can discharge treated wastewater into the Razmetanitsa River and Struma are polluted by the discharge of wastewater from TPP “Bobov Dol” with extremely high content of pollutants Control sampling was performed at the two discharge points according to the permit namely: point №1 - discharge from a drainage channel of treated water in the Razmetanitsa River and Point №2 - discharge from a reinforced concrete channel after a distribution shaft – a settling site for wastewater located on the territory of the WWTP “Cherno Ezero” in the Razmetanitsa River actions according to competences will be taken to impose administrative and criminal liability the Executive Environment Agency (EEA) at the Ministry of Environment and Water has started reviewing and updating the complex permit of TPP “Bobov Dol” due to established systemic pollution on the basis of the Environmental Protection Act “The purpose of the procedure is to introduce new requirements and conditions in the permit to ensure compliance with the norms the request for it being made to the EEA by the controlling units at the MOEW – the RIEW and the Basin Directorate in Blagoevgrad.” This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Water Borislav Sandov upon his surprise visit to the “Bobov Dol” TPP and “Republika” TPP yesterday He pointed out that over the years he personally submitted numerous signals due to emissions from the chimney of TPP “Bobov Dol” without desulphurization and always received the same response from the RIEW - that due to an accident it was necessary to use this chimney Minister Sandov reminded that there are quite a few signals by citizens about environmental pollution against many thermal power plants in Bulgaria and inspections are constantly carried out by institutions “Bulgaria has infringement proceeding started by the European Commission related to the activities of TPPs A legal case has been filed against our country with the court in Luxembourg regarding the excessive levels of sulfur dioxide in the area of ​​Galabovo That is why we will take action against the polluter” The Anti-corruption Unit in the Prosecutor's Office has filed charges against former Minister of Energy Rumen Ovcharov over the case with Bobov Dol mines Checks have shown damages to the company reaching nearly 4.5 million euros As a minister Ovcharov did not exercise sufficient control over the work of the Executive Director of the company Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev has left for Washington where he will participate in the Munich Leaders Meeting (May 5-7 The forum is organised by the Munich Security Conference The foundation Unity- Kočani has sent an open letter to key Bulgarian institutions expressing gratitude for the support and humanitarian assistance provided by Bulgaria after the tragedy of the fire at a nightclub in Kočani The foreign ministers of Bulgaria and Greece Georg Georgiev and Giorgos Gerapetritis signed a joint declaration on the use of the waters of the river Arda on 2 May the BNR reports citing an announcement published by the Greek Foreign Ministry.. people will be able to withdraw money  from ATMs only in the new currency according to the website of the Bulgarian. helicopters of the Bulgarian Air Force will fly at low altitude over Sofia in preparation for a military parade marking the Day. The Bulgarian student teams that participated in the European Olympiad of Experimental Sciences EOES 2025 in Zagreb have returned with.