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Biogas in Bulgaria

General


According to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources the target for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy in the year 2020 for Bulgaria is 16% (in the year 2005 the share was 9.4%). The Directive has a mandatory 10 % target for transport to be achieved by all Member States, which refers to renewable sources as a whole, not biofuels alone.

Renewable electricity, heating and transport fuels: Biogas

     The use of biogas is underdeveloped despite the available resources.
Biogas in Bulgaria is produced as far mainly in urban waste water treatment plants and is used for either plant own needs or local community needs. The expected consolidation of animal farms in the next years will allow for the construction of cost-effective biogas installations.  No energy has been produced from animal manure yet but measures are planned under the Rural Development Programme.

There are no specific incentives promoting the production and use of biogas, except of its use in combined heat and power generation. Electricity produced in CHP is purchased at preferential prices. The amount of produced biogas remains insignificant, however measures are planned to be taken under the Rural Development Programme. A prospective project that could attract attention is the substitution of fossil fuels by renewable energy for heating purposes of public service buildings.

Biomethane is not integrated into the existing natural gas networks yet but expansion of this technology and increase of biogas production will require development of rules for connection of biogas producers to the distribution networks. The draft Renewable Energy Act provides for the implementation of mechanisms for the promotion of the production and consumption of gas from renewable energy sources. As market is not developed there is lack of investor appetite in extending the gas network Infrastructure. Technical rules and connection tariffs for biogas have not been developed yet.

 

Feed-in tariff rates are set by the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. The Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources and Biofuels Act lays down feed-in tariffs for electricity produced from renewable energy sources, except for energy produced by hydropower plants of over 10 MW installed capacity and biomass-fired power plants of over 5 MW installed capacity. Feed-in tariff rates [in BGN/MWh] amount to 80 per cent of the average selling price of the Public Supplier or Public Retailers in the previous calendar year plus a surcharge determined by the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (‘SEWRC’) in accordance with criteria relating to the technology and type of primary energy source. The surcharge may not be less than 95 per cent or higher than 105 per cent of its amount in the previous calendar year. Each year, the regulator draws up a document setting the feed-in tariffs according to technology and some technical parameters.

Price of electricity produced from power plants for 2010 in BGN/MWh:

 

Other biogas (vegetable and animal substances)

PPs of up to 150 kW 199.05

PPs of 150 kW to 500 kW 183.56

PPs of 500 kW to 5 MW 168.08

 

Landfill gas

PPs of up to 150 kW installed capacity indirectly using energy from municipal waste 272.29

PPs of 150 kW to 500 kW installed capacity indirectly using energy from municipal waste 261.84

PPs of 500 kW to 5 MW installed capacity indirectly using energy from municipal waste 251.39

 

Sewage biogas:

PPs of up to 150 kW 150.69

PPs of 150 kW to 500 kW 136.44

PPs of 500 kW to 5 MW 119.34

 

BGN/EUR – 1 Bulgarian lev / Euro = 0.511321997

 

This gives the price of 77-139 EUR/MWh guaranteed for 15 years.

 

Future programme changes expected

 

The expected installed biogas capcity in Bulgaria is 45 MWe in 2015 and 65 in 2020. The consolidation of animal farms in the next 3 to 5 years, which will allow the construction of cost-effective biogas installations.

 

Sources

National Renewable Energy Action Plan for Bulgaria. URL: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/doc/national_renewable_energy_action_plan_bulgaria_en.pdf

Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform_en.htm

http://www.resbulgaria.com/2010/07/prices-for-electricity-from-renewable-energy-sources-%e2%80%93-bulgaria-2010/

http://ziuaenergiei.ro/pdf/Erste_Bank_Ladislav_Tolmaci.pdf

Institute for Renewable Energy, Poland.

 

Interactive EurObserv’ER Database
http://www.eurobserv-er.org
Last update: January 2011



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