Keeping coal-fired plant open in Bulgaria
Government support for the Maritsa East 2 coal plant
“File:Galabovo TPS AES.jpg” by Gonzosft is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
In 2020, the then Bulgarian government formally committed to keeping the Maritsa East 2 coal power plant in Stara Zagora open, regardless of the country’s commitments to the EU. The Maritsa East 2 plant is reportedly the largest in the Balkans and is wholly state owned by Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD. It provides significant employment in the Stara Zagora region. The plant has been operating at a loss for the past several years and is heavily subsidised through public funds.
Following a period of political instability, in 2021 a care-taker government announced plans to transform the plant from coal to a gas-fired power plant, under intense pressure from the EU. This plan was abandoned when a more stable government was established and gas prices began rising. At present, Bulgaria has committed to a coal phase out date of 2038 or 2040. The Maritsa East 2 plant has also been the subject of European Court of Justice ruling addressing illegal emission levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2).
This resistance strategy of the Bulgarian government has been partially successful, but there is continuous pressure to bring the coal phase out date forward.
Further reading
Just Transition (2021): Bulgaria’s Post-Coal Future: How Political Shortsightedness Dooms the Just Transition. Read here.
Funding
The CINTRAN project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 884539. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of CINEA or other EU agencies or bodies.