Bulgarian parliament strengthens support for renewable energy investors

The Bulgarian parliament recently adopted changes to the Renewable Sources Act (ERSA) signalling a firm commitment to advancing renewable energy production.

The amendments to ERSA streamline administrative and legal processes, shorten application and appeal timelines, and broaden support for both consumers and investors in the renewables sector. Under these new rules, project developers seeking to construct or modernise renewable energy power plants in priority areas and the respective grids facilities can expect all requisite administrative permits to be issued within one year.

In addition, administrative and judicial appeals relating to construction of renewable energy plants and grid facilities, and the reconstruction and modernisation of the grids, including appeals related to environmental protection and biology, will be carried out through expedited administrative and judicial procedures.

The parliament has extended the term of preliminary contracts to three years for connecting wind energy plants to the grid. Existing contracts will be extended automatically. This extension offers developers greater certainty and flexibility for advancing wind-powered projects.

To foster clean energy in transport, fuel suppliers must ensure that at least 14% of the final energy consumption in transport is generated from renewable sources by 2030. Meanwhile, transmission and distribution operators will be prohibited from imposing discriminatory charges on end users who generate and consume their own renewable electricity on-site, thereby encouraging self-consumption and enhancing affordability.

Another notable development is that each municipality must offer guidance and information on the procedures for establishing renewable energy plants, co-located energy storage facilities, heat pumps, battery energy storage systems, and grid facilities. This requirement is expected to reduce bureaucracy so that individuals and businesses can more easily develop local energy solutions. End customers are also permitted to install heat pumps of specified capacities (i.e. up to 12 kW or up to 50 kW for self-consumers whose renewable electricity generation matches at least 60% of the heat pump’s electrical capacity) on their premises in urban areas, which will expand opportunities for modern and efficient heating.

These amendments are expected to streamline the renewable investment process in Bulgaria.

For information on how these legislative changes could affect your projects, contact your CMS client partner or these CMS experts: Kostadin Sirleshtov, Borislava Piperkova, Stoyana Petrova.