November 23 (SeeNews) - The combined net profit of renewable energy companies in Bulgaria surged by 58% on the year to 284.5 million euro ($293.4 million) in 2021, according to a report by SeeNews and Gugushev and Partners Law Office published on Wednesday.
In the three years between 2019 and 2021 the financial results of Bulgarian companies active in the solar, wind, hydropower, biomass and renewable gas segments showed a 3.1 percentage points (pp) net profit margin growth to 19.1%, according to the Renewable Energy Sector in Bulgaria report.
You can download the 2024 Renewable energy in Southeast Europe report here
The report covers 1,869 companies active in the operation, maintenance, asset management, construction, engineering or project development of facilities generating energy from renewable sources. The report also tracks the performance of companies that manufacture batteries, engines, turbines and other equipment for renewable power facilities.
In 2021, the companies' operating revenue grew 41% to 1.5 billion euro, compared to an increase of just 5.8% in 2020.
Investments in long-term assets in the sector more than doubled to 62 million euro in 2021 and are expected to exceed 240 million euro by 2024, according to the report.
Germany and Italy emerged as the top foreign investors in the sector, which also attracted for the first time investors from Sweden.
With an overall installed capacity of 5,243 MW in 2021, the renewables sector represented a 40.4% share of Bulgaria's total power generation capacity.
Under Bulgaria's Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2031-2030, which is in line with EU regulations and targets, the country aims to achieve at least a 27.09% share of renewables in its gross energy consumption by 2030, increasing the use of green energy sources for electricity generation, heating, cooling and transport.
($ = 0.9682 euro)