Bulgarian Balkan Energy Plans 200 MW Wind Park

Bulgarian energy company Balkan Energy said on Friday it plans to start building a wind park of up to 87 wind turbines with a combined installed capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) as soon as it gets a license from the country's energy regulator.

The park, to be located near the village of Dobrin in northeast Bulgaria, will generate 420,210 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, Balkan Energy said on its website. The total installed cost is estimated at 1.5 million euro ($2.05 million) per MW and electricity sales price are fixed at 80 euro per megawatt hour (MWh).

In the first stage of the project the company plans to install up to 35 wind turbine units with a cumulative generating capacity of 80 MW.

"Our wish is to start construction as soon as 2008," Balkan Energy executive director Atanas Dobrev told SeeNews. However, a possible delay in the licensing procedure and in the delivery of turbines could put the project onhold until 2010, he added.

A preliminary licensing by the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) is required for the signing of a contract on the delivery of the turbines, the start of measurements, which will take a year, and the launch of construction, Dobrev said.

SEWRC is due to review Balkan Energy's application for a licence on July 30.

Balkan Energy (www.balkan-energy.com) has signed a preliminary agreement for the delivery of turbines with German Enercon and a financing agreement with Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank.

($ = 0.7299 euro)

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