19.10.2021

Over BGN 1 billion in renewable energy projects in Bulgaria is ready to invest in a joint venture

CWP AND MERCURIA ARE LOOKING FOR PARTNERS FOR WIND AND SOLAR POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS IN OUR COUNTRY

The newly created joint venture of world leaders in green energy - CWP Europe is ready to invest over BGN 1 billion in renewable energy projects in Bulgaria. It brings together the experience and efforts of CWP, a leading renewable energy company (RES) in Southeast Europe and Australia, and Mercuria Energy Trading, one of the world's largest independent energy traders with revenues of over $ 100 billion.

CWP Europe is already working on the development of a total of 2 GW of RES capacity in Southeast Europe, worth a total of 1.9 billion euros, and has ambitions to significantly expand its plans in the coming years. Thus, the organization will significantly contribute to the provision of cheap green energy and accelerate the energy transition in four countries in the region - Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Ukraine.

"We see a serious opportunity in Bulgaria and the other three markets, where the huge amount of expensive and polluting coal-fired power plants must be replaced with renewable sources as soon as possible," said Dimitar Enchev, CEO of CWP Europe.

CWP has been active in the region since 2008, developing and implementing the largest wind farms in Serbia (the 156-megawatt Čibuk project) and Romania (the 600-megawatt Fântânele Cogealac). The team is already developing a portfolio of wind projects in Bulgaria with a total production capacity of 669 MW and is working on several options for solar power plants in the country. There are already two large wind projects in Northeastern Bulgaria, which are at an advanced stage and whose construction is expected to begin in two years.

"Mercuria's participation will allow us to accelerate the process by even more actively looking for suitable projects in Bulgaria to support. There are many companies and specialists in the RES sector - from the development, design, construction and operation of RES plants and we are already establishing sustainable long-term partnerships with them. Now we will have the opportunity to develop and expand them," explains Dimitar Enchev.

"We are pleased to join CWP and support the production of cheap and clean electricity in Southeast Europe," said Jean-Frasois Steeles, Vice President of Energy Transition at Mercuria. "We look forward to working with the CWP team to expand the company's portfolio and apply our expertise to optimize their strategy."

The scale of CWP Europe's investments in Bulgaria will depend on the possibility of expanding its portfolio with suitable projects for the construction of wind and solar power plants and energy storage systems in Bulgaria. Special attention will be paid to the development of still innovative for this part of Europe hybrid projects, which include the simultaneous production of wind and solar electricity and energy storage systems.

CWP Europe is convinced that the development of RES will allow in the long run to keep electricity prices stable, and thus to maintain the economic competitiveness of the region.

"The topic of electricity prices will become more sensitive in Bulgaria. Electricity from new wind and solar power plants has the lowest cost, and - market prices will fall the more wind and sun join the energy mix," explains Dimitar Enchev.

"Besides, unlike other productions, in the case of renewable energy the price does not depend on the extraction and delivery of expensive raw materials. This will ensure stability and predictability of electricity consumption of consumers and will have a positive impact on their competitiveness," he added.

Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Ukraine are among the most carbon-intensive energy markets, with coal still dominating the energy mix. These countries have the most polluted air in Europe and have some of the highest mortality rates due to polluted air. The decarbonisation of these markets is an urgent priority and will require thousands of megawatts of wind and solar energy.