Renewable energy to drive electricity price 10-15% higher, grid operator says
Electricity prices in Bulgaria will rise by an estimated 10 to 15 per cent once 300MW of wind and solar power facilities are built over the following two to three years, the executive director of Bulgaria’s power grid operator NEK, Mardik Papazyan, was quoted as saying by Dnevnik daily on December 20.
By law, NEK is required to buy all electricity produced from renewable energy sources at preferential prices, which means that the extra cost will show on consumers’ bills.
Bulgaria has to increase its production of electricity from renewable sources to 16 per cent of consumpion by 2020, in line with commitments made when the country joined the European Union in 2007. Currently, about 10 per cent of all electricity production in Bulgaria comes from renewable energy sources.
NEK plans to spend 300 million leva to connect windparks to the power grid over the next three years, including 70 million leva in 2009 alone. The investment will additionally drive up electricity prices, according to company officials, quoted by Dnevnik.
Alex Bivol
20 December 2008
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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