According to a plan for the development of Bulgarian power system in the next ten years published by transmission system operator ESO, the country’s installed capacity is expected to increase by 1,817 MW by 2025 in order to reach gross production of 52,627 GWh.
Renewable energy sources will be accounted for 1,420 MW of the total new installed capacity. ESO estimates that 650 MW in wind farms, 513 MW + 193 MW in solar power plants and 64 MW in biomass power plants will be connected to the grid by 2025. This will increase the share of renewable energy in total electricity production from current 15.49 % to 19.9 % in 2025. The document also estimates that some 634 million euros has to be invested in the country’s electricity distribution network during that period.
In the next ten years, Gorna Arda cascade project, which consists of three hydropower plants on Arda river with combined power output of 166 MW, should be completed, as well as the project for the extension of operational life of units 5 and 6 at nuclear power plant Kozloduy.
The document also envisages that installed capacity in thermal power plants will increase by 197 MW in the next ten years. It also forecasts that electricity consumption in Bulgaria in 2025 will range between 40,940 and 43,140 GWh, depending on the pace of implementing energy efficiency measures. The difference between annual electricity output and consumption is estimated at 9,437 GWh by 2025.
