Austria-based Enery preparing to build Bulgaria’s biggest solar park

In case there are no delays, the construction of the Chirpan solar power plant in Bulgaria can begin this year. The 160 MW project is owned by Enery from Austria. It would currently be the largest in the country.

Enery, an Austrian company controlled by Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund through Amber Infrastructure, already operates one of the three biggest photovoltaic facilities in Bulgaria.

In 2020 it bought a solar park on 100 hectares with a 60.4 MW peak and 50 MW in connection power in Karadzhalovo near Plovdiv. The other one, Pobeda, with a matching capacity, is in Aytos near the Black Sea Coast, according to a public register. Separately, SENS LSG finished a solar power plant of 66 MW in peak capacity last year in Dalgo Pole in the Plovdiv area.

Nikola Gazdov, who manages Enery’s Chirpan project of 160 MW, told Divident.EU that if the permitting process proceeds as planned, the installation can start before the end of the year. He also estimated that the photovoltaic park would be built within one year.

Of note, Eurohold is rushing in the meantime to complete a solar power plant of 124 MW in peak capacity south of Sofia while developing the project for another 50 MW segment.

Eurohold is set to soon take over the title of the holder of the largest photovoltaic facility in Bulgaria from Enery, but the change may be temporary

Gazdov estimated the investment at more than EUR 102 million, but added that the exact sum and the capacity would be known when the documentation is complete. Chirpan is named after a nearby town in the Stara Zagora region.

In 2020, Enery secured a preliminary approval from the Municipality of Haskovo in southern Bulgaria for its 400 MW solar park project.

The Austrian company recently bought renewable electricity plants in Romania with 81 MW in total capacity

The company runs photovoltaic, wind and hydropower plants with 268 MW in total capacity in Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the article adds. The company has 3 GW in its renewable energy project pipeline.

In November, Enery completed the acquisition of Jade Power Trust’s 81 MW portfolio in Romania. It consists of two wind farms in the Dobrogea region, two photovoltaic systems and two micro hydropower plants. With the transaction, the Austrian firm boosted its operating capacity in the country to 273 MW.