Bulgaria passes renewable energy law amendments at second reading, transposing EU directive 2023/2413

Bulgaria's National Assembly has adopted at second reading the amendments and additions to the Renewable Energy Act (ZEVI), the Ministry of Energy announced on Friday, 6 November. The texts, proposed by the ministry and by members of parliament, were debated in detail in the plenary the day before, according to the specialist portal 3E-news.

What changes. The amendments transpose the requirements of Directive (EU) 2023/2413 on the promotion of energy from renewable sources. The law provides for technical rules and standards for the design and construction of buildings, support measures for businesses, measures for renewable heat production and a mechanism for issuing and exchanging credits for renewable electricity used in transport.

Wind zones. When priority zones for wind power generation are designated, protected areas and territories of the National Ecological Network, bird migration routes, forest land and permanent grassland are excluded, the ministry said. According to the ministry, the law does not change the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act and the Biological Diversity Act, the rules for building and commissioning renewable installations, or the restrictions on changing the use of agricultural land.

Background. The ministry says the amendments create the conditions for EU climate neutrality by 2050 and for cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990. The directive, adopted on 18 October 2023, sets a binding EU target of 42.5% renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030.

The committee stage. At the second-reading vote in parliament's energy committee in mid-October, MPs approved ending preferential purchase prices for electricity from new rooftop and façade solar installations of up to 30 kW, without affecting existing installations, the newspaper Capital reported at the time. The reason given was the low cost of the technology.

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