Bulgaria's plan to restart 0.5 GW coal power sparks concerns
Date: November 27th 2024
Author: Dalibor Dobrić
Category: En.vision
Topic:
Electricity
, Coal
Bulgaria's plan to restart two 227 MW units at the Maritsa East 3 coal-fired plant this winter has sparked concerns among industry observers about its viability and brought into doubt the country's coal exit.
They pointed to the lack of profitability of the plant, which stopped operating in February following the expiry of its long-term power sales contract with state-owned utility Nek.At the time it was expected to continue selling power on the free market on a seasonal basis when prices are high enough to cover the high coal-fired production costs.
“Since the company's contract ended, the plant has stopped working and laid off a large part of the staff, as there is no economic justification for this and such a model is not profitable,” said Tsvetomir Nikolov, analyst at local think thank CSD.
A second regional expert expressed concerns around Bulgaria’s lack of a clear strategy on phasing out its lignite-powered plants.
Last year, the country announced its decision to postpone its coal exit until 2038 but did not provide any further details.
Profitability questioned
“What will happen in April? New solar plants will come into operation, prices will go down, and all coal-powered plants will be out of merit order”, he said.The country’s decision to restart the units during the first quarter of next year was announced by interim energy minister Vladimir Malinov on Tuesday.
"These two units can provide the necessary electricity to maintain the balance of the Bulgarian electricity system” and reduce the need for energy imports, the minister said.
The Balkan region remains notoriously reliant on coal, with Serbia recently announcing the launch of the new 350 MW coal-fired power plant Kostolac B3.
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