Consumption of renewable energy in Bulgaria reached just short of 10 per cent of the total energy produced in the country in 2009, Economy Minister Traicho Traikov said in a report to be reviewed by Cabinet on March 31, Bulgarian Dnevnik daily reported.

The report said that the total production of energy from renewable sources was 3711GWh in 2009, or 8.7 per cent of the total energy output of Bulgaria.

One of the conditions for Bulgaria to join the European Union was that by 2010, the country should be able to produce at least 10 per cent of its energy through renewable sources, wind, biomass, hydro, geothermic or solar energy, while by 2020 it has to reach 16 per cent.

Wind power installations with total output capacity of 221MW were built in Bulgaria  2001, of which the largest one at St Nikola accounted for 156MW, while energy produced by solar parks reached 7MW.

The output of energy from renewable sources will increase in 2010 however, both from wind turbines and new solar parks, the report said. Bulgarian firm Solarpro will build a solar park near Malko Turnovo by the end of the year with 2.4MW, has already started and it contemplates the construction on two larger solar parks with combined capacity of 20MW in 2010.

According to Dnevnik, one of the main obstacles hindering the faster development of new wind parks in the country was the lack of a strategic plan, which put such projects in conflict with farmers, who have decried the use of agricultural land to host wind parks.

Eolica Bulgaria, part of Generacion Eolica International SL of the Spanish Enhol Group and Balkars Consortium, will build a wind park with a 60MW capacity in Souvorovo, northeastern Bulgaria, it was announced on March 1.

The new facility would cost in excess of 82 million euro, of which 60 million euro will be provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in a "syndicated loan with Eolica Bulgaria", the report said. Another 22 million euro will be provided by the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank.

Wind parks are usually concentrated in Bulgaria's fertile northeast region of Dobruja, because of the favourable wind conditions, where agricultural producers complained that the facilities use up valuable arable land. Concerns have been raised in the past that should more installations be built, there would be "no arable land left" for farming.