Unlocking the Solar Potential of Burgas and Sofia

To meet national climate targets, Bulgaria needs to achieve a one-third share of energy from renewable sources by 2030. Furthermore, the Bulgarian municipalities of Burgas and Sofia have each set the individual target of a 35 per cent share by 2030. Considering meteorologic conditions, solar power is the most promising renewable source of electricity for the two cities. However, photovoltaic systems (PVs) are not widely installed in the region yet, leaving enormous potential for energy transition unlocked.

The project team informed citizens, businesses, and public institutions on the potential of unused roof spaces in the cities of Burgas and Sofia to generate electricity from photovoltaic installations. For this purpose, the team developed a digital platform which provided practical information on which buildings were suitable for PV installations, how much energy they could potentially generate, how high the required investment was, and how long it would take for investment return. Additionally, the project team targeted potential investors and offered them detailed guidelines on processes and requirements for PV installation. A series of events and trainings targeted representatives of local and state administrations, of small and medium enterprises, of homeowner associations, public building managers, and residents of multi-family apartment buildings. These aimed to further spread knowledge and to pave the way for joint projects between city administration, businesses, and citizens/energy cooperatives. With these measures, the project team aimed to kickstart the broad installation of PVs in the region, thus contributing to its energy transformation and creating an example to follow for other municipalities in the region.

• Development of solar cadastres, so called “solar maps”, for the cities Burgas and Sofia: Publicly accessible online maps that can be used to check whether and which roof surfaces are suitable for photovoltaic installations were created based on a study of more 10,000 buildings in the two cities. Moreover, using the data from the solar potential estimate, both cities have updated their energy strategies.
• Establishment of two energy offices in Burgas and Sofia: Here, visitors are provided with information on financing programmes as well as training on energy efficiency and renewable energies and technical support in preparing applications for national and EU funding programmes. The energy offices have thus become valuable institutions for local stakeholders.
• Creation of guidelines for implementation of PV installations and a handbook with best practices from the EU.

Further Links (all in Bulgarian):

Project website: https://solarcities.bg/
Burgas’ energy strategy: “Strategy for Sustainable Energy and Climate Burgas”
Sofia’s energy strategy: “Short term programme to promote the use of renewable energy and biofuels of Sofia municipality 2023-2025”
Handbook: Best Practice 
Guidelines: Guidelines for implementation of PV installations