site.btaBobov Dol Coal Power Plant Responds to Greenpeace Bulgaria, For the Earth Complaint

Bobov Dol Thermal Power Plant (TPP) is in the final phase of constructing a 2-kilometre natural gas pipeline, which will allow the plant to replace fuel oil used for equipment ignition and enable investments in gas-powered engines, said Bobov Dol TPP Executive Director Chavdar Stoynev in a position received by the Bulgarian News Agency on Tuesday.

The statement came after environmental organizations Greenpeace Bulgaria and Za Zemiata (For the Earth) filed a complaint with the European Commission over longstanding violations by four coal power plants: Bobov Dol in Golemo Selo, Brikel in Galabovo, Republika in Pernik, and Maritsa 3 in Dimitrovgrad. The violations span a six-year period — from 2018 to 2023. The complaint concerns breaches of European legislation related to the way Bulgarian institutions have handled the operations of these plants, said Meglena Antonova, Director of Greenpeace Bulgaria, in a statement to BTA earlier on Tuesday.

Bobov Dol TPP noted that it has built a photovoltaic park with a final capacity of 100 megawatts, located on a reclaimed ash deposit, without affecting any arable land. The electricity generated will be used to produce hydrogen, supporting diversification of the plant’s fuel mix. Projects are also underway for hybrid engines using both natural gas and hydrogen.

The plant has also invested in gas co-generation engines, currently installed on-site, which will partially replace coal usage. “After replacing 20% of coal with biomass, we invested in a biogas facility that will allow more efficient utilization of biomass. We are also progressing on a battery storage project near the PV park,” Stoynev added.