Renewables

Bulgaria simplifies procedure for rooftop solar installations

bulgaria prosumers solar panels simplifies procedures

Photo: National Assembly of Bulgaria

Published

January 12, 2023

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

January 12, 2023

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

The National Assembly of Bulgaria has adopted changes to the territorial planning law to simplify and speed up the installation of solar panels for the production of energy for self-consumption.

Currently, the procedure to install solar panels and become a prosumer can stretch to one year, but now it is expected to accelerate, local media reported. It is another measure to promote the prosumer concept, as the government has recently announced EUR 30.5 million in grants for rooftop solar.

The initial proposal for simplified procedures was to be valid for the capacity of 10.8 kW

The initial proposal was to simplify the procedure for units with up to 10.8 kW in capacity, but Bulgarian lawmakers voted to increase the threshold to 20 kW. There were also calls to raise it to 29 kW, or even 50 kW.

The amendments canceled the obligation to obtain a building permit and submit a project. Zhecho Stankov, a member of parliament from the GERB party, said the administrative burden would “disappear.”

If the municipality does not object prosumers’ notification within 14 days tacit consent principle will be applied

Instead of a building permit, there will be a notification regime, he said, and added that the owner and contractor would only need to inform the authorities for the technical commissioning of the installations.

The owner will notify the local authority of their intention to install solar panels on their roof and a tacit consent principle will be applied – the project becomes valid if the municipality does not object within 14 days.

Citizens didn’t benefit from the drop in costs for solar equipment

Lawmaker Vladislav Panev from Democratic Bulgaria said solar power costs have fallen to record lows but that due to the complicated procedures, it mainly benefited large investors.

It is why, unlike in other countries, the majority of solar power installations are not on roofs, but on fields, in his view.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

belgrade energy forum bef 2025 western balkans electricity market coupling cbam

Western Balkans power markets: hope for coupling with EU, concerns about CBAM

29 May 2025 - Representatives of TSOs, regulators and power exchanges gathered at a panel on the integration of Western Balkans markets into the EU market

Global battery storage capacity expands record 200 GWh 2024

Global battery storage capacity expands by record 200 GWh in 2024

29 May 2025 - The cost of storing electricity has dropped thanks to the declining cost of battery projects and technological advancements, Rystad says

Olympus CCUS project breaks ground in Greece

Olympus carbon capture project breaks ground in Greece

29 May 2025 - Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a must for the future of the cement industry, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said

CyberGrid is committed to energy transition in SEE with its aggregation solutions Candellari

CyberGrid is committed to energy transition in SEE with its aggregation solutions

28 May 2025 - CyberGrid's Nikolaj Candellari said at BEF 2025 that the firm believes in the energy transition in SEE, contributing to the process with its solutions