U.S. Energy Group AES Plans To Build 80 MW Solar Park in Bulgaria

U.S. energy group AES said it plans to build a 80 megawatt (MW) solar park near the town of Silistra, in northeastern Bulgaria.

The company plans to deploy the park in two stages, starting with a capacity of 64 MW and later adding another 16 MW, according to a project proposal filed with Bulgaria's energy regulator.

The project will be carried out through AES Solar Bulgaria Lambrinovo, a wholly-owned unit of the U.S. company, which has applied for a 20-year permit to produce solar energy.

The company plans to start production at the park by the end of 2012.

The estimated value of the investment was not disclosed.

In Bulgaria, AES (www.aes.com) also runs a 156 MW wind farm which it launched last year.

It plans to bring on stream by mid-2010 a 670 MW thermal power plant, AES - 3C Maritsa East 1, in the Stara Zagora region, in southeastern Bulgaria.

Electricity generated from renewable resources, mostly water, currently cover less than 10% of Bulgaria's gross electricity consumption. The country has 330 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity and just 3.0 MW of solar energy capacity.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!