site.btaEnvironment Minister: Buildings Can Also Store Energy

In addition to saving, consuming and producing energy, a building can also store it, Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov said at the beginning of the Sustainable Development Forum, which is taking place in Sofia as part of the World Green Building Week.

Besides storing energy, buildings can also play an important role in the energy system in trading and balancing energy. With this in mind, buildings are transforming from consumers into energy hubs, Popov said.

According to the Energy Minister, a building’s energy efficiency is a reasonable but not final goal, as buildings are already starting to play a very active role in the energy system.

“I would like to see in Bulgaria this approach to construction that will solve not only the problems of buildings, clean air and energy costs, but can start to solve the problems of Bulgaria's energy system in general. And not only Bulgaria’s, because we are in a fully integrated international market,” Julian Popov said. “We are rapidly moving towards electrification of the energy system. We are unlikely to reach 100% electrification of everything, but now about 20% of the energy flow is electricity, we will probably reach 50-60% and maybe more,” he predicted.

According to Popov, the fact that Bulgaria is not gasified at the moment is a big advantage. He said countries like Austria, Germany and the UK are spending billions and making huge efforts to degasify their building sectors. Bulgaria is in a good position with 3-4% direct gasification to switch to more modern electrified heating and energy supply of buildings, Popov added.