Prosumers – households and businesses that simultaneously produce and consume energy – are critically lagging behind in Bulgaria and should become a priority. This was stated by Dr. Eng. Dimitar Beleliev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (BASEL), at the Regional Energy Summit energy forum. Focusing on small and medium-sized RES projects, rather than giant power plants, is the right way forward for the country, he added.
Prosumers are a missed opportunity for a stable energy system. Bulgaria is one of the first in Europe in terms of the number of RES installations per capita, but the share of prosumers remains too low. It is they who would ensure the sustainability of the energy system, since distributed generation facilitates network management at the micro level – such as the idea of a smart grid.
„It is much easier to manage a system when you rely on prosumers. Smart grid is actually nothing more than managing things at a micro level“, commented Beleliev.
Despite its good geographical position and relatively developed network infrastructure, Bulgaria is not yet ready to attract large-scale foreign investments in data centers. Beleliev outlines three mandatory conditions:
1. Energy security.Photovoltaics and batteries are not enough on their own. Rotating energy is needed - a nuclear power plant, a coal-fired power plant in reserve or gas - to guarantee the stability of the system.
2. Political security and predictability.A major international investor must clearly know what Bulgaria's geopolitical orientation is. The uncertainty about the direction - Western Europe, the USA or Russia – deters serious capital.
3. Military security. For a large investor, regional stability is no less important than the tax regime or network connectivity. The example of Dubai is eloquent: hundreds of billions in data centers and real estate can lose significant value in minutes in the event of regional instability.
Regardless of the challenges, Bulgaria has real potential: a good location, historically built network infrastructure and cities with unoccupied industrial heritage – such as Vidin for example – with access to transport connectivity by air, water and land. Attracting specialists for data centers even in smaller cities in our country is achievable due to the decent remuneration in this sector.
„We have the technological data for business development. "We need to strengthen administrative facilitation so that investors can come and know that their business will move forward," concluded Beleliev.