Solar power for Bulgaria

Würzburg/Vienna/Dalgo Pole. SENS LSG GmbH, a joint venture between Würzburg-based STEAG Solar Energy Solutions GmbH (SENS) and its Viennese partner LSG, has established a photovoltaic (PV) plant with an output of 66 megawatts (MWp) in Bulgaria. The plant was built in the municipality of Dalgo Pole, located about 120 kilometers south-east of the Bulgarian capital Sofia and near the city of Plovdiv. More than 122,300 solar PV panels are installed on trackers, enabling them to change their orientation and follow the position of the sun. They can therefore generate around 100,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of renewable energy each year, contributing to a successful energy transition in the Balkan country.

At present, Bulgaria’s energy supply is still largely based on fossil fuels. But this is set to change in the near future: “By the end of this decade, the share of energy from renewables in the Bulgarian electricity mix is to be increased to 25 percent,” says Fabian Herr, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SENS. The declared political goal is to respond not only to climate change but also to the current drastic increase in energy prices by expanding renewable energy generation.

The solar farm now completed by SENS LSG is helping to achieve these ambitious goals. With construction only starting in March, the plant has now already been connected to the Bulgarian power grid. “The speed of the construction process shows once again that our work alongside the LSG Group on the expansion of solar energy has been a successful partnership for many years now. We are a well-coordinated team and are therefore able to perform even complex projects efficiently,” says Fabian Herr.

More projects in the pipeline
However, the solar project now completed is far from the last on the Bulgarian market for the seasoned partners: SENS LSG would like to continue to actively promote the expansion of renewable energy in Bulgaria and has already planned another solar farm in the country. Construction work for a further 50 MWp of solar capacity is due to start in November.

“We recognized the potential of south-eastern Europe early on,” says Karl Göth, managing director of the LSG Group. “But up to now, there has often been a lack of political will to expand solar energy. Thanks to the EU’s binding climate target, we can now take advantage of Bulgaria’s climatic and ecological potential and tackle the construction of large solar farms. Together with SENS, we are achieving a great deal for the renewable energy future of the country in a relatively short time,” Karl Göth adds.

47,000 metric tons of CO₂ saved per year
With its more than 122,300 photovoltaic panels installed on solar trackers, which automatically adjust their orientation to the position of the sun, the plant now in operation generates an annual renewable energy yield of 100,000 MWh. In this way, thanks to the plant, around 47,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions are avoided year after year.