Business card
Dr. Eng. Dimitar Beleliev has nearly 30 years of experience as a manager and investor in the energy sector. Since 2002, he has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the oldest and largest Bulgarian enterprise for the maintenance of large generating capacities in the energy sector – “Central Energy Repair Base” EAD (CERB).
Dr. Eng. Beleliev established in 2020 “AmonRa Energy” AD – one of the largest certified centers for the supply of products and provision of solar energy solutions on the Balkan Peninsula and the first photovoltaic company listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, BEAM segment.
He is the Chairman of the Control Board of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (since 2014), Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (BASEL) (since 2021), as well as a member of the Management Board of the Scientific and Technical Union of Energy Engineers in Bulgaria (since 2016).
In recent months, the state’s efforts have shifted from promoting renewable energy to preserving coal-fired power plants. What do you think of this policy?
-I think it’s a mistake in the way it’s being done. We made a decision about coal-fired power plants more than 10 years ago. I don’t know why this topic needs to be “heated up” again. Such power plants in their current form have no future. The world is going in a different direction and I don’t know what we need to realize it.
The politicians’ explanation is that they are protecting coal-fired power plants in the name of problems for businesses and consumers.
– This is absolutely not true. If we go back just two years, we will see that the Maritsa Basin was swallowing 1 billion leva in cross-financing per year. Economically, it is at a loss. A big one. These power plants can find a place in the country’s energy system as balancing or reserve capacities, but not as main ones. We must look for options for the most painless way out of this situation that we have put ourselves in, by not solving the issue for years.
There is a lot of talk about investments in new renewable energy sources, but few of the projects actually happen. The grid does not have the capacity to connect them, and therefore hundreds of millions are needed to modernize and expand it. How can this issue be solved without burdening consumers with large additional fees?
– The power plants simply need to be built where the consumption is – in the cities. A number of studies show that this is completely possible. In Sofia, for example, between 500 and 1000 MW of solar power can be installed on roofs and free areas, without disrupting the urbanization of the city. The production of energy from this power will be taken over by the grid without any problem, since it will be consumed on site and will not be transported far away. This way, huge investments will not be needed, as is the case with large RES power plants in remote places. Such capacities can also be built near large energy-intensive enterprises. There is no point in building them in areas without energy consumption, as is the trend.
The first programs under the recovery plan to support investments in new renewable energy sources, specifically for businesses and households, have already been launched. There is huge interest in them, but do you expect them to achieve the desired effect?
– No. These schemes are inadequate. First, it is not possible to return energy to the grid. For a third of the year, business consumption is minimal (weekends, unless they are in continuous operation, which is rare). What do we do with the energy produced then? Do we heat space? Second, the smaller an accumulation system, the less efficient it is. Batteries should have a supporting role, not the main one, which is assigned to them. Third, the selection criteria are very strict and in places strange.
The solution is very simple: Net metering with maximum simplification of the rules of participation.
It is claimed that this could disrupt the economic balance of electricity distribution companies and is difficult to organize.
– There is certainly a solution to every problem. The question is whose problems do we want to solve – those of specific private companies or those of the state and society as a whole.
There are three groups of stakeholders in our country who are interested in not having net metering and in general not developing green energy among consumers. One is the electricity distribution companies, because they lose from this. The others are the large energy producers such as thermal power plants, nuclear power plants and everything related to them. And in third place are the large investors in renewable energy. Naturally, their problems must also be taken into account, but not at the expense of consumers.
With the increase in new RES capacities, especially solar ones, won’t we reach a situation where the price of electricity during the day is so low that it cannot provide a return on investment?
– Is it bad that prices are normal? Now they are definitely abnormal.
The point is that investors still need to have some kind of return.
– Yes, that’s right. But you can’t convince me that a 50% profit margin is normal.
And you at AmonRa Energy, which is the first company in the sector to attract stock market financing and is one of the largest importers of solar panels and inverters in the country, what observations do you have about the development of RES investments here? Do you expect the boom in the sector to continue?
– Last year, the solar business in Bulgaria developed rapidly and chaotically, but normalization is already felt.24 hours7 days
We at AmonRa Energy as a company are in an excellent position. We have the chance to work with the best manufacturers in the industry such as JA Solar, Canadian Solar, Sungrow, SAJ, Growatt and others. We have our own AR2 mounting system that covers all types of roofs. We produce it jointly with “Contact Elements” AD in the town of Dragoman.
We have developed our own energy storage system for industrial users – BESS. We produce it jointly with CERB EAD.
With the leading global manufacturer SUNWODA, we offer good battery solutions for household and small users. All of this gives us a huge advantage and we are confident in our future successes.
