Bulgaria – First wind energy project for a wind-energy generation park

The investment project for the construction of a wind-energy generation park of Ecosource Energy received a First Class Investment Certificate issued by InvestBulgaria Agency (IBA) in accordance with the Investment Promotion Act. The document has been officially awarded by Mr. Pavel Ezekiev, Executive Director of IBA, in the presence of Mr. Valentin Ivanov, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Energy. BGN 156 mln. (EUR 80 mln.) will be invested by the Bulgarian company Ecosource Energy in the construction of the first of its kind in Bulgaria wind-power generation park, which will be located at the ridge of the Balkan mountain, near Murgash peak. The Murgash Park will be situated on an area of 240 ha and will include 44 last-generation wind turbines. The facilities comply completely with the requirements of the EU regarding the environment safety and are completely noiseless. The capacity of each generator will be 2.3 MW, with a total capacity of the park of 100 MW.

“Twenty of the wind turbines, produced by the German leading company Enercon, will be installed during the first stage of the project, which will be completed at the end of 2006. The rest 24 turbines will be installed in the following two years. All generators will be 65 m high and with 71 m diameter of the runners. Our preliminary estimations show that during the first stage the wind-power generation park will generate about 180 000 MWh electricity power annually, with a minimal annual exploitation of 3000 hours”, announced Mr. Vladimir Nikolov, Executive Manager of Ecosource Energy. “In accordance with the Investment Encouragement Act the investor applies for institutional and administrative support on behalf of the experts of InvestBulgaria Agency. The infrastructure components needed for the realization and the exploitation of the park will be financed by Ecosource Energy”, explained Mr. Pavel Ezekiev.

The installation of the first 20 wind turbines is scheduled to start in mid-2006. The exploitation and maintenance of the generators will ensure permanent employment of at least 50 people and of over 100 employees engaged in the related activities, added Mr. Nikolov. Enercon Germany is a pioneer and one of the global leading companies in the design and trade of power-generators using wind sources. On a global scale the company has already produced and installed over 8000 wind turbines in more than 30 countries with a total capacity of over 6000 MW. The biggest in the world wind-power generation park in Magdeburg, Germany, also functions using wind turbines produced by Enercon.