AES Bulgaria power plants provided 9% of the electricity in the country in January 2021

April 11, 2021

The most modern coal-fired power plant in the country, TPP AES Galabovo, provided the Bulgarian customers with over 305 000 MWh of electricity

In the first month of 2021, AES Bulgaria’s generation capacities produced 9% of the total energy consumed in the country. This shows an analysis of the production results of TPP AES Galabovo and St. Nikola Wind Farm.

In January, the most modern coal-fired power plant in Bulgaria TPP AES Galabovo produced 8% of the overall electricity generated in Bulgaria. The two units of the 690 MW capacity produced 305 696 MWh of reliable energy for the Bulgarian customers. This is equal to the average monthly consumption of around 1 million Bulgarian households.

St. Nikola Wind Farm, which is the largest in the country, generated in January 2021 43 763 MWh of environmentally friendly energy. This is 1% of the total electricity consumed in the country in the first month of the year. With their operations, the 52 wind turbines of St. Nikola Wind Farm have provided clean energy as much as the monthly consumption of all households in a city like Varna.

TPP AES Galabovo is the only entirely newly-built coal-fired power plant in Bulgaria in the last 40 years. It incorporates state-of-the-art technologies in terms of power generation, environmental care, and work safety. The power plant complies with all applicable environmental standards of Bulgarian and European legislation and environmental protection is a top priority. Proof of this is the average annual desulfurization rate of over 97% achieved in 2020. TPP AES Galabovo is of key importance for the country’s energy security and for providing the static and dynamic stability of the energy system of Bulgaria as well as for maintaining the voltage levels and the balance of the reactive power in the electricity transmission grid. The power plant contributes to Bulgaria’s energy independence by using only local energy resources – lignite coal from the state-owned Maritza East Mines, which provides jobs for thousands of miners.

St. Nikola Wind Farm represents about 22% of the total wind capacities installed in Bulgaria and in this way contributes for the country to meet the targets for the share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix.

The wind farm is the backbone of the Integrated Early Warning System for Bird Protection, which complies with the European requirements for the preservation of wild birds. The system integrates on-site monitoring by ornithologists as well as modern radars which signal approaching flocks or single birds, which allows the stopping of individual turbines or the entire farm. In this way, it takes care of the environment and contributes to the protection of biodiversity in the Kavarna region.