ESCO Bulgaria, a former unit of Czech energy company CEZ, announced that it will develop, install and maintain two solar power plants with a total capacity of 13 MW at local subsidiary of German copper producer Aurubis.
ESCO Bulgaria, which is now part of Bulgarian diversified group Synthetica, will be in charge of the project’s technical design, equipment delivery and assembly, commissioning and maintenance of the two solar power plants.
In late 2022, Aurubis Bulgaria said that it plans to invest 20 million euros in the expansion of its existing solar power plant in Pirdop. According to the plan, the plant’s installed capacity will be increased from current 10 MW to 24 MW.
The expansion will be made in two phases, with 12 million euros invested in the first and the remaining 8 million in the second.
The company said that the first stage of the expansion will be completed using stationary, double-sided modules that produce more energy than conventional PV modules, which should be completed in early 2024. The timetable for the second stage has not been revealed.
Aurubis Bulgaria commissioned its 10 MW solar power plant for own use in late 2021. The company has installed over 20,000 solar panels on reclaimed and recultivated former landfill area of 100,000 square meters.
Once all work is done on the expansion, the solar power plant in Pirdop will generate enough electricity to cover the annual demand of some 9,000 households, thus saving 34,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually or over 500,000 tons for the 15-year lifetime of the plant.
By 2030, Aurubis Bulgaria aims for the Pirdop plant to cover 20 % of its own energy needs from renewable sources.
