Minister Malinov at Powers Summit: Bulgaria is a strategic factor in the transfer of green energy

"Bulgaria will continue to be an indispensable factor in the transfer of green energy and the support from our international partners proves it. We must take advantage of our key geographical location and climatic conditions so as not to be left out of strategic energy projects." This was said by the Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov to the participants in the fourth meeting of the authorities and business Powers Summit 2024. He cited the Green Corridor as an example and assured that our country is consistently working to join the project. "In this way, the region will benefit from green energy at more affordable prices," he added.

The Minister of Energy fully agreed with the thesis of the representatives of the industry organizations participating in the discussion that social policy should not be carried out through the energy sector. This will provide an opportunity to implement the process of liberalizing the electricity market and defining the energy poverty groups," his words made clear. Minister Malinov welcomed the initiative to establish an interdepartmental working group on the liberalization of the electricity market at the Council of Ministers with the participation of the Energy Committee in the National Assembly.

"The sustainable increase in the share of renewable energy in our market also requires us to make quick decisions regarding its storage. The RESTORE measure announced by us from the Recovery and Sustainability Plan has sparked enormous investor interest in building modern storage facilities. 151 proposals were submitted for a total value of nearly 5 billion. BGN, and the grant is almost 1 billion euros,” recalled Minister Malinov. “In the first quarter of next year, contracts will be concluded with the beneficiaries and additional financial resources will be sought. If all investment proposals are serious, we will provide the market with the opportunity to have 8-9 thousand MWh of storage capacity,” announced Minister Malinov. Regarding the other measure to encourage investments - for RES and batteries - the first contracts with the beneficiaries will be concluded by the end of the year, and the second part of them - no later than January, he also said.

Within the framework of the event, the Minister of Energy held a bilateral meeting with the Executive Director of the joint company that will implement the Green Corridor project, Mr. Farhad Mamadov. Malinov once again stated Bulgaria's position on participating in the joint venture for the implementation of the project, which envisages an underwater cable for the transmission of energy from renewable sources from the Republic of Azerbaijan to Europe.

Minister Malinov also spoke with Anders Risberg, Head of the Central and South-Eastern Europe Department at the European Investment Bank. The two discussed the progress in implementing the feasibility study for the construction of a PAWPP at the existing Batak and Dospat HPPs. According to the Minister of Energy, this is one of the most sustainable technologies for energy storage and our country is counting on the study to be finalized by the middle of next year.

Acting Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov called for social policy not to be made through the energy sector. According to him, defining the concept of "energy poverty" is not the task of the Ministry of Energy alone. According to him, the moment it is realized that social policy is not made through the energy sector, this will mean that one of the key steps has been taken and then the full liberalization of the market will be easier to implement.

Achieving this goal goes through a wider spectrum of topics, Malinov pointed out. According to him, the creation of an interdepartmental working group with all stakeholders in connection with the full liberalization of the energy market has a natural place in the Council of Ministers (CM), but he suggested that it be a joint one between the Energy Committee of the National Assembly and the CM.

We rely on a working parliament and that these measures, which will be prepared and developed by the working group, will also receive their legislative framework, which will provide predictability, long-termism and a clear and precise horizon, said the acting minister, quoted by BTA.

According to him, the plan for full liberalization of the energy market is important and Bulgaria must send a clear signal to its partners in Brussels when this will happen. According to him, the problem is not only in the lack of information among people.