Greek electric power company Public Power Corporation (PPC) said it has begun construction of a 165 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with a co-located battery energy storage system (BESS) in Stara Zagora, central Bulgaria.
The project is expected to generate over 265 GWh of energy annually - enough to power more than 45,000 households - while reducing carbon emissions by 133,000 tonnes per year, PPC said in a press release on Monday.
The co-located BESS, with a nominal capacity of 25 MW and installed capacity of 55 MWh, is set to be completed alongside the photovoltaic plant.
The project will connect to Bulgaria’s electricity grid via a new 33/110 kV step-up substation located on the site.
PPC already operates an 18 MW wind farm in Bulgaria. In addition to 208 MW of renewable energy capacity in operation or under construction, PPC has 550 MW of renewable projects at various development stages in the country.
As part of its strategic expansion, PPC Group aims to increase its total installed renewable energy capacity to 11.8 GW by 2027, with 6.3 GW of new projects planned across Greece and Southeast Europe. Currently, over 60% of these projects are either under construction or ready to break ground.
In Romania, PPC has doubled its installed renewable capacity, becoming the country’s largest renewable energy producer. It operates 25 wind, solar and hydroelectric projects, along with battery storage units, with a total installed capacity of 1.3 GW.
Last April, PPC and Greek private energy company Mytilineos said they agreed to develop a solar portfolio of up to 2 GW across Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. At the time, the value of the deal was estimated at up to 2 billion euro ($2.18 billion) and expected to be implemented over three years.
(SeeNews, March 18, 2025)
