BULGARIA WILL ASSESS VIABILITY OF GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS

BULGARIA WILL ASSESS VIABILITY OF GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS

Bulgaria will put on hold all projects for the building of renewable energy facilities until it completes an assessment of their energy potential and environmental impact.

The plan will be ready by the middle of 2010 and will be accompanied by an assessment of the potential for the construction of ecological facilities, as developed by the economic ministry.

The Bulgarian Minister of Ecology, Nona Karadzhova, made this announcement on Wednesday at a business conference in Sofia entitled "Bulgaria turns to a low carbon economy”.

She explained that at this stage it is unclear precisely which projects will be affected by the measure.

"It turns out that the boom in the construction of wind and photovoltaic parks is linked to construction in protected areas and improper implementation of procedures under Natura 2000," she said.

Bulgaria has undertaken, as an EU member state, to increase production of green energy to 16% of the total by 2020. According to the Bulgarian eco-minister, this goal will be fully met.

“Our country, together with another nine countries, offers at the conference in Copenhagen to decide on an increase of the reduction of emissions from 20% to 30% by 2020. This item was approved today by the [Bulgarian] Government,” she announced.

"Bulgaria has managed to significantly achieve its commitments by 2012 to reduce emissions according to the Kyoto Protocol. We offer a portion of the quotas to be transferred after 2012, on condition that green investment schemes are implemented," said Karadzhova.

She explained that the intention was that revenues from emission trading of the country should be focused on green investment. The precise scheme is still to be specified.