site.btaBulgaria Opens Its Largest Solar Park near Dupnitsa

The largest solar power plant built so far in Bulgaria - the Verila Solar Park (123 megawatts) - was officially put into operation on Thursday. Through it, Electrohold Trade will supply the telecom Yettel and the telecom equipment company CETIN with green energy for the next 10 years, after the two parties signed a power purchase agreement.

This is the largest corporate contract in Bulgaria to date. It will provide 80% and about 86% of the two companies' total consumption, respectively, the company's press office said.

This park and similar projects are the step that will take the power sector to a more modern and cleaner generation, officials said at the opening. They stressed that Verila is a unique facility and is the only one of its scale in Bulgaria. The facility will use some 222,000 photovoltaic panels and occupies over 130 hectares. On sunny days, it can power areas like Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad.

"Electrohold Trade is among the largest licensed electricity traders in Bulgaria and is part of the eponymous group owned by the country's largest public holding company, Eurohold. Yettel is one of the leading telecoms and CETIN is one of the largest wholesale telecommunications providers. Both are part of the Czech PPF Group.

The investment in the Verila Solar Park is just over BGN 200 million, secured with own funds and financing from DSK Bank and Varengold Bank, the company said. The investor is the project company Belozem Solar Park, whose owners include the majority shareholders in Eurohold. The main contractor of the installation is the Bulgarian-German SUNOTEC - one of the leaders in Europe in the construction of photovoltaic plants.

The Verila plant is located on the southern slope of Mt Verila near Krainitsi village, not far from Dupnitsa (Southwestern Bulgaria).

The installed capacity of the photovoltaic park represents 7% of the total capacity built so far in this segment in the country. Currently, about 1,700-1,800 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity has been installed in the country.

A team of over 200 SUNOTEC experts is involved in the construction of the plant, and the actual construction started in September 2022.

An official event on the occasion of the opening of the Verila Solar Park was attended by MEP Tsvetelina Penkova, member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Kyustendil Regional Governor Alexander Pandursky and Dupnitsa Mayor Metodi Chimev, as well as other official guests and business representatives.

Minister of Energy Rumen Radev sent a congratulatory letter, pointing out that the Verila power plant is one of the most serious investments in Bulgaria in recent years, and the complex is an important stage in the implementation of the transition to a low-carbon and circular economy in the country.

The solar power plant is a major green step in Bulgaria's and Europe's transition to clean energy from renewable sources. The company's strategy as one of the leading suppliers on the market is to offer green and time sustainable solutions for its customers. "Electrohold has a team of professionals with experience in energy management and the necessary infrastructure to expand its presence in the renewable energy sector in the near future,” Karel Kral, CEO of Electrohold, said at the event.

“We expect our renewable portfolio to reach over 500 MW by the end of the year,” said Kiril Boshov, Chairman of the Management Board of Eurohold and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Electrohold Sales.

“This project definitely puts Bulgaria on the map as one of the leading progressive and green countries in the region”, said MEP Tsvetelina Penkova at the opening, and stressed that Sofia is currently hosting one of Europe's largest green transition conferences.

"The opening of this facility is very timely, because at the moment in the European Parliament, we are working on a key piece of legislation - the Zero Net Emission Industry legislation. This means that Europe is moving towards a process of re-industrialisation, that these facilities and the components for them need to start being manufactured again on our continent," Penkova added.