Bulgaria Tipped As Lucrative Market

Bulgaria is the new found hotspot for solar PV technology in the world. In 2009, the country became one of the fastest growing solar PV markets in the world with an expected cumulative PV installed capacity of 86.41 MW. Bulgaria added 85 MW of new installed capacity in 2009, second only to the Czech Republic. The maturing German and Spanish markets allowed investors to look for new opportunities in central and Eastern European (CEEP) nations. In the last couple of years, the Czech Republic has attracted the major share of investments but with the reduction in feed-in tariffs in 2010, the country will lose its supremacy in the region, making Bulgaria the next most promising market. In the long term, the country is expected to become the most lucrative PV destination in the CEEP region due to its new feed-in tariff program which guarantees preferential rates for the sale of power produced by solar installations for 25 years.

A new study discusses the Central and Eastern European (CEEP) countries solar PV power market during 2004-08. It also discusses the historical and forecast installed capacity of the Bulgarian solar PV market.