October 5 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's state-owned Electricity System Operator (ESO) is kicking off a project to modernise and expand its grid at a total cost of 760 million euro ($798.6 million), the company told SeeNews.
The project, named "Sustainable adaptation of the national electricity grid - Greenabler," will be implemented by 2030, the company told SeeNews in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
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Greenabler aims to upgrade the grid to a higher voltage level, specifically 400kV, up from the current 220kV. This upgrade will increase transmission capacity and bolster internal connectivity, enabling the integration of additional renewable energy sources in the future.
By the end of 2023, as much as 300 MW of new renewable generation capacity is expected to be connected to the grid, ESO told SeeNews. The grid operator has signed both preliminary and final contracts for the integration of 11,700 MW of new renewable capacity. In addition, preliminary contracts have been established for the inclusion of an extra 7,000 MW of renewables into the high-voltage grid.
ESO's investment proposal, which was published in September, includes the reconstruction and conversion to 400kV voltage of 12 existing power lines with a total length of 965.65 kilometres, along with associated substations. The investment will require an environmental impact assessment. The power lines are located in the regions of Pleven, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Sliven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Shumen, Gabrovo and Pazardzhik, according to information published on ESO's website.
The national power grid operator runs a 2,000 km network of 220 kV, the bulk of which was built between 1950 and 1970 and is approaching the end of its exploitation period.
As part of the Greenabler programme, there are plans to repair nearly 900 km of 110 kV power lines, double the voltage capacity of 92 km of 110 kV power lines, build new 400 kV power lines and substations, and repair 20 existing substations.
Bulgaria has set a national target of 27% for the share of renewables in the country's gross final energy consumption by 2030.
In the nine months through September, the volume of renewable energy in Bulgaria's transmission network jumped by 58% on the year to some 1,925 GWh. Solar power increased by 139% to some 1,254 GWh, while wind power edged up 1.15% to 586.4 GWh. The volume of renewable power in the distribution system grew by 10.37% to 1,932 GWh, according to data published by ESO earlier this week.
($ = 0.9516 euro)