Photo: AE Solar
Bulgarian-German company AE Solar Horizon has submitted an application to the city authorities of Kyustendil for building a factory to manufacture solar panels, according to officials from the Bulgarian city.
The investment of AE Solar Horizon, the first in the Kyustendil industrial zone, is estimated at BGN 20 million (EUR 10 million), mayor Petar Paunov said.
The projected capacity of the factory for Tier-1 photovoltaic panels is 1 GW. The start of construction is planned for the summer, with completion targeted in 18 months, local media reported. The facility will span 1.2 hectares, and create 100 jobs. All the electricity for the factory will be supplied by hydropower plants.
The investor plans to donate 100 kW of solar panels to local authorities every year
According to Paunov, the investor plans to donate 100 kW of solar panels to the local authorities every year, and to secure additional benefits to citizens. Technical documentation for solar panels for all public buildings will be funded and prepared by the investor.
An incubator for solar energy start-ups will be created and free training organized for solar panel installers. Every citizen of the municipality interested to install PV panels will be offered interest-free lease, Paunov said.
The factory in Bulgaria is one of three planned in the Balkans by AE Solar Horizon, which is established in 2022. The other two will be located in Greece and North Macedonia, according to a press release by investment fund New Vision.
AE Solar Horizon plans to build three factories in the Balkans
AE Solar Horizon has obtained its initial capital of EUR 3.5 million from Bulgarian venture capital fund New Vision 3, which provided EUR 1 million, German solar producer AE Solar GmbH, which contributed EUR 2 million, and Bulgarian engineering company ELIA, with EUR 500,000.
In September 2022 German company AE Solar announced an investment in North Macedonia.
A year earlier it also announced an investment near the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, and a project in Kayseri, Turkey.
Italian company EXE Solar said in November that it would build a solar panel factory in Yambol in Bulgaria.
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