site.btaUPDATED Energy Ministry in Favour of Option Allowing Households to Produce Energy from Renewable Sources to Meet Own Needs

The Energy Ministry is in favour of a right of households to produce energy from renewable sources (RES) to meet their own needs. This transpired during a meeting on Monday between Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov and representatives of Greenpeace Bulgaria. Earlier in the day Greenpeace activists went to the ministry demanding to speak with Nikolov and have him promise to put up for public consultation in the next two weeks legal amendments to provide reliefs to households which generate electricity from RES for their own needs. 

Nikolov said at the meeting that other grave problems in the current situation shift the priorities "in a matter of hours". He said that no one had expected a war to be waged a couple of hundreds of kilometers from Bulgaria.

The environmentalists hold that Bulgaria should not be dependent on fossil fuels, irrespective of their origin. They also note that households should be allowed to produce energy from RES to meet their own needs. According to the environmentalists, the process for this proceeds extremely slowly. 

Greenpeace Bulgaria said that in late December 2021 they sent Nikolov proposals for legal amendments concerning RES electricity generated by households. However, the Minister said none such letter had reached him. He asked the environmentalists to re-send the proposals so that he can consider them. Nikolov did not commit to concrete dates when legal amendments could be submitted by his Ministry, saying that these need to be coordinated with his team. 

Nikolov assured the environmentalists that the changes will happen "in the foreseeable future". He stressed that all RES projects need to follow strict rules and said that lifting administrative obstacles for such projects should not be at the expense of their quality.