The expectations for 2022 are to implement over 200 new business projects for own use, which, as they grow, will have a huge impact on the country’s energy sector. Any energy produced and consumed locally means less need for centralized production in large thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, etc.
If business manages to save even 10% of its annual consumption, a power plant like the state-owned Maritsa-Iztok 2 TPP will have no one to sell half of its energy to. Combined with large renewable energy projects that would replace old production on a purely market basis, this means a completely different energy mix compared to the current one.
How economically profitable it will be to invest in a solar system for own use depends mainly on how much energy a company consumes during the day. With a solar power plant that can cover 30% of the energy consumption, the company’s electricity bill from the grid will drop significantly. Accumulated over a year, this makes the savings a serious amount. In other words, the investment could be recovered in less than two years, if the current high prices of exchange-traded electricity are maintained.
This example would change significantly if the solar system covered 15% or 40% of the company’s needs. Therefore, it is very important to prepare such a project that optimally serves the needs of the business. At least two main parameters must be analyzed – hourly consumption and the possibilities for installing solar panels. The goal is to make such a plant through which the largest possible part of the energy produced is consumed on site.
If the available free areas are small and filling them 100% will not satisfy the needs of the enterprise – the project is relatively easy. However, if there are very large areas that can be used, it is necessary to assess exactly what power the plant should have, so that at certain times some of the panels do not have to be turned off or excess energy to be returned to the grid.
To install solar panels on the roof of a company, warehouse or store, a long bureaucratic process must be completed, which is a big problem for investors.
The good news is that this year Bulgaria should advance the provisions of the European RES directive, which will significantly facilitate the construction of self-generation systems, and the cumbersome state administration is already a little better at dealing with RES business projects and does not view them as something exotic and incomprehensible.
