SOFIA (Bulgaria), January 24 (SeeNews) – Japan’s Toshiba Corp has confirmed plans to invest 4.0 billion yen ($48.4 million million/37.6 million euro) in a 10-megawatt solar park in Bulgaria, the economy ministry in Sofia said on Monday.
“Contrary to initial plans for attracting other co-investors, Toshiba said it plans to realize the investment on its own,” the ministry said.
The plant, to be located in Yambol, in southern Bulgaria, is expected to go on stream in 2011 and provide electricity to some 2,000 households, the ministry said in a statement. Toshiba Corp unveiled the project last year as part of a bigger plan to expand in the markets of Europe and the U.S.
“This Japanese company is a first-class investor, which posts a good sign for Bulgaria and for our expectations to increase the share of investments attracted in the country in 2011,” Bulgaria’s Economy Minister Traicho Traikov said in the statement.
Also on Monday, state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) group said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Toshiba Corp for increased cooperation in the energy and energy efficiency sectors. The two sides intend to step up cooperation in electricity production from thermal, hydro, nuclear and photovoltaic sources and in increasing the efficiency of transmission and distribution through introduction of smart grids, BEH said in a separate statement.
Reuters on Friday quoted Japan's The Nikkei business daily as reporting that Toshiba Corp and Japan's Tokyo Electric Power, Itochu Corp and government-backed Innovation Network Corp planned to build an over 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion/893 million euro) solar park near Yambol with an initial installed capacity of 50 MW, which will gradually increase to a target of 250 MW within five years.
BEH (www.bgenh.bg), set up in September 2008, incorporates assets of Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant Kozloduy, gas monopoly Bulgargaz, gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz, telecommunications operator Bulgartel, power grid operator NEK and its wholly-owned system operator ESO, coal-fired power plant Maritsa East 2 and the Maritsa East coal mines.
(1 Japanese yen=0.0089 euro)
Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!
