site.btaMany Bulgarian Homes Can Become Energy Independent, Expert Says

Amid grim political forecasts of cold and dark winters due to the feared closure of coal-fired power plants, it may be worth considering available alternatives. A campaign for energy independence of every Bulgarian household will be conducted by two NGOs: the Public Centre for the Environment and Sustainable Development and the Green Laws Initiative (GLI). The two organizations will propose legislative amendments to speed up the electricity sector's transition to a power mix dominated by a variety of renewable energy sources, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported on November 18.

GLI's Petko Kovachev believes that the process of designing and building home electric systems can become far more rapid if the right policy is implemented and conducive legislation is adopted. A considerable part of Bulgarian homes, if not every one of them, can acquire such a system and become energy independent, Kovachev told BNR.

There are all sorts of hurdles. The law makes the process of installing renewable energy systems too slow, Kovachev explained. The short life of the most recent Bulgarian parliaments raises an obstacle to the adoption of new comprehensive laws, which are necessary in this field, the expert said.

Major changes should be made with regard to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), particularly in order to strengthen its control functions over electricity trading via the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange, Kovachev said. EWRC's regulatory powers need to be elaborated. The commission has become almost a state within a state. It has hidden dependencies on various political and economic lobbies, he said.

It still takes one or two years to complete the installation of a renewable energy electric system in a Bulgarian home, while in Western Europe and some Central European countries it is a matter of months. The investment costs here are not very different from those in the West, but the administrative fees are too big, Kovachev said.

Asked to give details about the energy ball wind turbines which have become popular in the United Kingdom, the expert said they are turbines that capture the wind from all directions and spin in a spherical formation. The resulting kinetic energy is transformed into electricity just as with rotor blade wind turbines. The difference is that an energy ball wind turbine can be small and convenient enough to mount on the roof of a house. This makes it possible for a home to have both a solar panel and a wind turbine on its roof, Kovachev explained.