Much of the electricity in Europe is still produced from coal, data of Statista for 2017 show. Bulgaria is fourth in the tanking of Europe’s most coal-dependent countries. 45% of electricity in this country is produced in 4 large thermal power plants in the Maritsa East (Maritsa Iztok) Basin and in several other smaller thermal power plants. These thermal power plants use local lignite coal to produce 3,200 megawatts of electricity. The lignite coal is cheap, but its quality is poor and pollution of environment is higher as compared to the thermal power plants using ordinary coal. That is why the abovementioned power plants have to buy huge amounts of CO2 quotas. As a result, the state-owned Maritsa east 2 thermal power plant incurred huge debts to the tune of over EUR 300 million. However, the Bulgarian authorities do not intend to close these thermal power plants any time soon and are planning to expand their life span at least until 2030 with a horizon to continue functioning until 2050.

Two of the thermal power plants in Maritsa East basin are owned by US companies. They also face the problem related to quality of air. They have managed to deal with the situation, but according to observers, one of them may be sold to a new owner.

Coal mining and production of electricity from coal give jobs to thousands of workers who are among the Bulgarians with highest salaries. However, Bulgaria signed the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and is now obliged to follow the stringent requirements of the EU related to environment protection and conservation. That is why the Bulgarian authorities have to take some painful measures. At the end of 2018 Bulgarian miners and energy workers protested against the possible closure of coal mining facilities and thermal power plants within two years for ecological reasons. The protesters were then supported by the Bulgarian labor unions, this country’s Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova and Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev. However, the Bulgarian authorities and the thermal power plants themselves have not taken any resolute measures to reduce air pollution and Sofia hopes to receive derogation from the EU rules. The thermal power plants are doing their best to reduce the level of harmful gas emissions, which costs a lot and threatens their profits. These thermal power plants are officially considered basal power this country’s power engineering cannot go without, especially in the winter, when the thermal power plants produce over 60% of the electricity. The most reasonable and acceptable solution for the thermal power plants is to start producing electricity from gas instead of coal. The price of natural gas is still higher than the price of lignite coal, but with the rapid development of the gas sector and the future construction of the Bulgarian section of the Turk Stream gas pipeline, the construction of the gas interconnector with Greece and the European gas hub Balkan, the natural gas may become cheaper. We should not forget that Bulgaria is among the leaders in the EU in terms of utilization of renewable energy sources. It has already met the EU requirements to produce at least 16% of the electricity from renewable sources. However, environmentalists like Greta Thunberg are insisting on even more radical measures aimed at protecting climate and environment and such appeals are gaining more and more supporters in Bulgaria.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov