Solar power plants recorded record production, and the export of electricity also increased, which provided revenues of several billion euros.
Electricity production in Bulgaria in 2022 increased by 6.3% compared to the previous year, to 49.4 TWh, which represents a record in the last ten years, while consumption decreased by 1.5%, to 37.8 TWh.
As a result, exports have grown significantly, in conditions of high electricity prices on the free market, providing enormous revenues to energy companies that are measured in billions of euros.
The most electricity in the past year was produced in coal-fired thermal power plants – they produced 22% more electricity compared to the previous year. However, in the last four months of 2022, the production of these plants lagged compared to the same period in 2021, which signals a possible decline in 2023.
The production of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant fell due to frequent and long-lasting breakdowns in the second half of 2022.
At the same time, record activity of solar power plants was recorded, given that a large number of new solar parks were put into operation in the last 12 months.
Due to the drought, hydropower production remained far below the 2021 level. Since the spring, RHE Čaira has been practically completely out of order.
Due to the lower contribution of hydropower plants and higher electricity production in the country, the share of renewable energy sources is reduced below 15%, which means that Bulgaria fails to meet its goal of 16% of green energy in the country’s energy mix. For comparison, in 2021 this share was over 18%.
At the same time, the share of coal-fired thermal power plants increased to almost 47%, after it was 41% in 2021 and 37% the year before.
Source: capital.bg
