ESO: RES capacities for a total of 4,500 MW are connected to the energy system in our country in 2024

Georgi Velev

In 2024, over 4,500 MW of renewable energy plants were connected to the country's energy system in Bulgaria. This was explained by the Executive Director of the Electricity System Operator Angelin Tsachev. His comment was made at the signing of the agreements for grant aid in support of the digitalization of the electricity system. The goal of the digitalization project is to increase the transmission capacity of the entire network and enable the connection of even more RES capacities, which as of this year are already over 4,500 MW in the network. We expect that in 2025, according to the applications that are being worked on, another 1000-1500 MW of new RES capacities will be added,” explained Tsachev. He is confident that the project for the development of the digitalization of the power transmission network will create more opportunities for the connection of more clean energy plants. In addition, the power transmission network in our country will be further stabilized.

The ESO project is for nearly 130 million leva and is financed under the Modernization Fund. We are talking about the GREENABLER project, which envisages the reconstruction of existing power lines and an increase in their nominal voltage and an increase in the transmission capacity of existing overhead power lines. The implementation of the project aims to adapt the 220 kV network to 400 kV, and this is directly related to the connection of even more RES plants and will reduce the risks of power supply interruptions, explained Tsachev.

The entire GREENABLER project is worth nearly 857 million euros and is divided into main groups of activities, the first of which is for the reconstruction of 720 kilometers of existing power lines to increase their nominal voltage from 220 kV to 400 kV and synchronized reconstruction of the adjacent substations from 220/110 kV to 400/110 kV. This group of activities has a total budget of 568 million euros and is planned for phased financing from the Modernization Fund over the next 7 years, ESO recalls.

In 2024, the European Commission allocated 65 million euros for the implementation of the activities envisaged in the first stage of the project. ESO launched the pre-investment and preparatory activities with its own funds, and a contract was signed for the implementation of the EIA procedures.

The following groups of investments include the reconstruction of the Hemus - Stara Planina power line from 220 kV to 400 kV, reconstruction of nearly 890 kilometers of 110 kV power lines and doubling of over 92 kilometers of 110 kV power lines in order to increase the capacity of the power transmission network. The planned investments in these groups of activities amount to 225 million euros, of which 203 million euros are proposed for financing under the RePowerEU chapter of the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. The remaining part of the funds necessary for the implementation of the project will be provided by ESO.

The implementation of the GREENABLER project aims to modernize the power transmission network and increase its transmission capacity in order to provide the necessary technical capabilities for the integration of additional new RES projects totaling 4.5 GW, ESO recalls.

In addition to ESO investments, funds are also allocated from the Modernization Fund for projects of the three Electricity Distribution Companies in our country.