Bulgaria, TPP Bobov Dol said that it will start the construction of a gas pipeline

Bulgarian coal-fired thermal power plant Bobov Dol said that it will start the construction of a gas pipeline, that will connect the plant to the national gas transmission system, in August.

CEO of TPP Bobov Dol Lyubomir Spasov said that the company expects to receive the permission to connect to the national gas transmission system from the operator Bulgartransgaz by 20 August, after which the construction can start.

Spasov said earlier that a 2 kilometers long pipeline, connecting the plant to nearby main gas pipeline running to North Macedonia, will be completed by the end of 2022. The plant’s switch to natural gas will also require the installation of a gas turbine with power output of 180 MW, which will run on a 50:50 mix of natural gas and green hydrogen.

TPP Bobov Dol recorded a net loss in the amount of 20.8 million euros in 2021, compared to a net profit of some 870,000 euros in the previous year. The company’s total revenues rose to 103.7 million euros last year, compared to 82.4 million euros recorded in 2020. Sales revenues rose by 21 % year-on-year to 95 million euros. However, total expenditures rose even higher, to 124.5 million euros in 2021, from 81.4 million euros a year before.

TPP Bobov Dol is 630 MW coal-fired power plant commissioned in 2000, located in southwestern Bulgaria. It was privatized in 2008 and local consortium Energy MK is the plant’s sole owner.