14 DAY TRIAL // Having just received the rights to develop a solar photovoltaic (PV) park in Kazanlak, Bulgaria, Pheonix Solar AG already thinks of selling the project. The company says negotiations are already in progress.
Phoenix, a German system integrator based near Munich, originally got approvals for a 20 megawatts array in 2009. However, construction had stalled in the face of ongoing discussions about the future shape of Bulgaria’s support for renewables.
Now, the company managed to secure some extra 30 megawatts, raising the total volume to 50. The array – which will be built in 10 batches of 5MW in the central province of Stara Zagora – will be the largest in the company’s history.
The plant will be built on 114 hectares and it is estimated to generate between 1,300 and 1,350 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak annually.
Being placed in a region with strong solar irradiation, the project is expected to deliver 30 percent more electricity than an average German installation.
"We have been actively engaged in Bulgaria's photovoltaic market since October 2009," states Phoenix Solar CEO Dr. Andreas Hänel.
"The successful project development and the subsequent sale of the solar power plant in Kazanlak is another step forward in the internationalization of Phoenix Solar AG. It is the largest project development ever of Phoenix Solar AG."
With the latest approvals secured, Pheonix confirmed it will start building the project before the end of this year.
Bulgaria is considered to have huge potential for wind energy, as well as good solar resources in its southern and eastern regions.
The country’s renewable-energy action plan calls for 1.44 GW of wind and 303 MW of solar capacity by the end of the decade.
In addition to the solar park that is to be built by Pheonix, last week Premier Power and Plaan Czech announced plans to build four PV projects totaling 16.2 megawatts in Dimitrovgrad in the southern province of Haskovo.