Rezolv Energy breaks ground on one of biggest solar power plants in Bulgaria

A solar park will replace an abandoned airport in northeastern Bulgaria. Rezolv Energy marked the start of construction of its St. George facility, of 225 MW in peak capacity. It will be one of the biggest photovoltaic plants in the country and the entire Balkans.

The Silistra airport, next to the village of Polkovnik Lambrinovo, closed in 2000. Rezolv Energy is giving it a new purpose with the St. George solar power project that it acquired last year from YGY Industries. The facility of 225 MW in peak capacity in northeastern Bulgaria will consist of almost 400,000 photovoltaic panels.

The company headquartered in Prague held a groundbreaking ceremony on the brownfield site, spanning 165 hectares. It aims to connect the solar power plant to the grid next year.

The facility will generate an estimated 313 GWh per year on average. Just a few months ago, the St. George PV system in the Silistra province would have been the biggest in the country, which is enjoying a solar boom. The Apriltsi facility in Bulgaria’s south is the largest in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Rezolv Energy signing virtual PPAs for electricity from St. George

Bulgaria-based Solarpro Holding and Chinese company CMC Europe are working in tandem as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. Bulgarian firm Green Solar Energy is tasked with high-voltage work at the site, near the border with Romania.

Rezolv Energy said 200 jobs would be created in the construction phase. It earlier revealed that St. George would feature bifacial solar panels of crystalline silicon. According to project documentation, the plant was envisaged with 229 MW in peak capacity. It is divided into an east and west segment, which would have grid connections of 99.5 MW each.

The solar power plant will consist of almost 400,000 bifacial modules of crystalline silicon

The facility will operate for more than 30 years, the company said after the event. The electricity will be sold to commercial and industrial users through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), the project presentation on its website shows.

In early September, Rezolv Energy signed a 12-year virtual PPA, one of the first in Bulgaria, for St. George. The buyer is Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe (AGP-Europe), part of Ardagh Group. The deal for 110 GWh per year enables the power supply of glass manufacturing operations across Europe from April 2026.

IFC, Raiffeisen provided debt financing

Rezolv Energy secured up to EUR 90 million in debt financing two weeks ago for St. George, from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) and Raiffeisen Bank International.

Of note, the company’s main shareholder, sustainable infrastructure investment firm Actis, agreed earlier this year to be taken over by private equity firm General Atlantic.

Rezolv has entered several markets in the Balkans since its establishment a year and a half ago. It takes renewable projects – wind, solar and storage – from late-stage development through construction and into long-term operation.