The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, submitted to Brussels in October 2021 by the caretaker government and later returned by the European Commission for revisions in the “Energy and Green Transition” section, outlines several investment intentions. For instance, the establishment of a state-owned enterprise called “Conversion of Coal Regions” in 2022, as well as the project for constructing gas-fired energy blocks with a total installed capacity of 1.0 GW in the Maritsa East complex.
At the beginning of February, the European Commission proposed that gas and nuclear energy be classified as sustainable energy sources during the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, aimed to be completed by 2050. In the Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (2021-2030), Bulgaria heavily relies on natural gas.
However, the new government stated that it would abandon gas power plants—first, due to the unsustainable prices of gas, and secondly, due to the dependency of our supplies on Russia. Prime Minister Kiril Petkov categorically rejected the idea of reviving the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project, in which over 6 billion leva have been sunk over 40 years. Nevertheless, he sees opportunities for overcoming the energy crisis through the construction of a new unit at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant and the use of geothermal energy, as well as energy from renewable sources as alternatives following the closure of mines and coal-fired power plants.
Bulgaria and the Netherlands are the only member states lagging in presenting their national plans. As for the others, the Council of the European Union has allowed them to receive grants and loans that will enable them to pre-finance projects up to 13 percent. Our country expects BGN 12.6 billion in grant aid through the recovery and resilience mechanism, along with access to financing of EUR 50 billion, but could lose part of these funds if the government does not present a clear program and timeline to the European Commission for shutting down polluting industries. However, this is not easy, as
Bulgaria lacks a strategy for the development of its energy sector,
nor is there a comprehensive concept for transitioning to a green economy. This creates conceptual chaos in the proposals and projects for low-carbon production and resistance from the coal lobby and trade unions against the closure of mines and the state-owned power plant in the Maritsa East complex.
These initiatives aim to replace electricity production from local lignite coal and represent a step toward phasing out 1.4 GW of coal capacity by 2026 as part of the decarbonization process in the industry.
The government of Borisov delayed setting a final deadline because it was unwilling to confront the problem directly and knew well that a miners’ blockade of the capital would bring him down in days. In the current coalition cabinet format, this decision seems even more difficult. The indecisiveness of Bulgarian officials to negotiate for a potentially longer lifespan of coal-fired power plants, as countries like Poland have done, puts them at a disadvantage both domestically and in relation to Brussels.
On top of all this, the energy crisis has emerged,
revealing that countries like Bulgaria cannot rely on gas as an alternative fuel to coal. An annual analysis by the non-governmental organization Ember in London shows that in the second half of 2021, coal replaced gas in the production of 5 percent of electricity in the EU, while in the last two years, electricity production from coal has risen by 7 percent in countries like Poland, France, and Denmark. This situation complicates decision-making related to the sector even further.
In connection with the need to revise the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev presented their vision to deputies for utilizing geothermal energy, as well as for the construction of two plants in the Maritsa East complex—one for waste incineration and another for the production of battery storage.
According to the two, the first geothermal power plant with a capacity of up to 4,000 MG could be built in Bulgaria by 2026. The production of 12,000 megawatt-hours of battery storage could indeed create hundreds of jobs, but the government has not yet disclosed how much this will cost the state or whether the investment will be solely public. For reference, the investments in Tesla’s factory in Nevada, where Powerwall batteries are produced, exceed $5 billion.
The idea to relocate the Sofia waste incineration plant to Maritsa East was seemingly thrown out by Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev in a plenary session to test
public sentiment.
The response was swift. The initial reaction to this proposal came from municipal councilors in Sofia, who surprisingly did not embrace the idea. However, independent municipal councilor Boris Bonev, who is evidently preparing to enter the race for Sofia mayor again, holds a different view. In an interview with our media outlet, he expressed that the incinerator is hopelessly outdated in the context of the Green Deal and does not align with the concept of a zero-carbon economy. Furthermore, it was designed with a large capacity, and the current amount of RDF produced by the waste facility near Yana station will not be enough to supply it. This, on one hand, means that it would need to burn waste from other cities, and on the other, it would be demotivating for reducing waste quantities in the capital.
The municipal councilor believes that the investment for the plant should not be wasted, but it can be built on a site in the Maritsa East complex, which is suitable for this purpose. When asked whether this would be economically viable given that RDF fuel needs to be transported 250 km—a considerable distance that raises concerns regarding the safety of rail transport in our country—Bonev responded that it is still the cheapest mode of transport. According to him, with its projected capacity, the incinerator can also handle waste from neighboring cities. Bonev further commented that such facilities should be established in at least several other locations across the country, as regional waste depots have a limited capacity and are insufficient to accommodate all waste.
The proposal to build the Sofia plant in the eastern Maritsa mining basin comes in response to protests from non-governmental organizations and citizens from Sofia, who are worried that burning waste almost in the center of the capital will pollute the environment. The organization “For the Earth” won a case in the Supreme Administrative Court against the Sofia municipality regarding the decision to approve the environmental impact assessment (EIA). The Supreme Court returned the case for re-examination in the Sofia Administrative Court, but at the last hearing held a few days ago,
the municipality refused to present
the results of the laboratory analysis of the RDF fuel,
claiming it was not relevant to the case, reported Anita Zarichinova from the “Zero Waste” team of the NGO. “For the Earth” has received signals indicating issues with the moisture content of the fuel and the presence of chlorine and hazardous waste in it. “The problem is huge, and it doesn’t matter whether the region around Sofia or Stara Zagora is polluted, because the health of people in both places is equally important to us,” commented the NGO activist. According to her, building the incinerator, whether in the capital or in Maritsa East, is absurd because it will not solve energy-related problems. Not to mention that the air in the region has been systematically polluted for decades by the operation of coal-fired power plants, and at the end of last year, the European Commission filed a lawsuit against the EU court due to the government’s lack of adequate measures to protect citizens’ health.
It is necessary to change
the overall concept of waste management
in the context of the Green Deal, and Bulgaria must catch up with its more than 15 years of delay in this area. There should be a move toward separate waste collection throughout the country and a reduction in the quantity of waste, comments Anita Zarichinova.
The issue of waste and how to manage it has also become relevant due to the intentions of businessman Rumen Gaitanski-Vŭlka to build a powerful waste incineration facility near Paviliken—one that would be the largest in Europe, with double the capacity planned for the Sofia incinerator. This has triggered protests from the local community, whose interests Minister Sandov promised to protect. Additionally, the director of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIOSW) in Veliko Tarnovo, Maya Radeva, requested that the Expert Environmental Council reassess the Environmental Impact Assessment report on the investment proposal from Gaitanski’s company, “Peturgia” Ltd.
However,
if the voices of citizens in Sofia and Paviliken carry weight
and are to be considered, shouldn’t the voices of the local communities in the Stara Zagora region and the workers in the Maritsa East complex also be heard?
The municipal councils in Stara Zagora and Radnevo voted to send declarations to the government during their January sessions, expressing their disagreement with the idea of building a waste incineration plant in the energy complex. A similar declaration was issued by the trade union organization of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria at “TPP Maritsa East 2” immediately after Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev presented his idea to the deputies in the National Assembly.
Years ago, an investigation by “For the Truth” revealed a preliminary agreement with secret clauses between the municipality of Gulabovo and “Brikel” AD for the incineration of 500,000 tons of waste annually. No contract was finalized, as the company, which is associated with oligarch Hristo Kovachki, did not receive permission from environmental authorities. Regarding the cabinet’s intention to construct an incinerator in the energy complex,
Nikolai Tonev, the mayor of Gulabovo, stated that he cannot comment on the intention without
any information about this investment.
The same position was expressed by the mayor of Stara Zagora, Zhivko Todorov.
Will the ruling authorities realize this massive investment in the Maritsa East complex? This will become clear when the new projects from the Recovery and Resilience Plan are presented to the National Assembly, which are awaiting approval from the European Commission. However, since January 9, when Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev first shared his idea in parliament, he has not provided a clear answer to any journalistic questions regarding this incineration plant. A month should have been sufficient for the cabinet to gauge the sentiments of citizens and non-governmental organizations regarding the project and to make an adequate management decision. Because the coalition government has neither the time for missteps nor the public trust to waste.
