“Our ambition is for Bulgaria to be not just an exporter of electricity, but for this energy to create added value here.“ This was said by the Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov, who opened a discussion on the topic “Bulgaria - a regional hub for high-tech business, artificial intelligence, green solutions and innovations”, organized by the Norwegian-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria. The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Energy Krassimir Nenov.
According to Minister Stankov, one of the biggest obstacles to gigafactories for artificial intelligence and data centers is the ability to be powered by a large amount of secure energy at affordable prices. In response to this challenge, the state is planning significant projects that will provide a sufficient amount of secure and affordable energy and opportunities for its storage.
“With the projects that we have included in our portfolio, we will guarantee Bulgaria's role as a regional hub in Southeast Europe“, emphasized the Minister of Energy. He focused on the efforts to restore the Chaira PVPP, which should operate at ¾ of its capacity by the middle of next year, the prospects for the construction of four new PVPPs, for which the country is applying to be accepted as projects of common interest by the EC, as well as the projects for new batteries with a total usable energy capacity of nearly 10 thousand. MWh, which will be built under the RESTORE procedure within the framework of the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. These prerequisites, together with the construction of new capacities at the Kozloduy NPP and the availability of nearby land where data gigafactories can be built, are an excellent opportunity for Bulgaria to become a regional hub for high-tech business in Southeast Europe, the Minister of Energy emphasized. In conclusion, he emphasized the state's commitment to offer comprehensive administrative services with a specialized team to any investor interested in developing such a business in the country.