Bulgarian Competition Regulator Allows Raiffeisen Alternative Energy Unit To Acquire Two Wind Farm Developers

"The aim of the company is to enter the Bulgarian energy market by putting into operation the wind farms of Kavarna East and Kavarna West," the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said in a statement without giving further details.

Kavarna East and Kavarna West are registered in Sofia. No information about their wind parks was immediately available.

Officials of neither Kavarna East, Kavarna West, or Raiffeisen Energy & Environment were immediately available to comment.

Raiffeisen Energy & Environment (www.ree.at), specialises in the acquisition, development, construction and operation of energy projects, including renewables.

Bulgaria should cover 11% of its electricity consumption by power generated from renewable sources by 2010 and 16% by 2020 under agreements with the European Union. At present, only a few wind turbines operate in the ex-communist state.

Bulgaria, which joined the bloc in 2007, significantly raised the preferential prices for electricity produced by domestic wind farms in 2006 in order to enhance green energy generation. The current purchase price is 175 levs ($141.7/89.5 euro) per megawatthour (MWh) of electricity generated by wind-propelled turbines that operate more than 2,200 hours a year and 156 levs per MWh for generators running less than 2,200 hours annually. The quoted prices include no Value Added Tax and are almost three times higher than the price of energy generated by coal-fired plants.

(1 euro=1.95583 Bulgarian levs)