Bulgaria keen to acquire stake in Black Sea Energy project

Thanks to its developed electricity transmission system, interconnections with neighboring countries, and energy storage infrastructure, Bulgaria might play a critical role in the development of the Caspian Sea - Europe green energy corridor project (Black Sea Energy project) that will pass through the Black Sea, Bulgarian Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov stated, Report informs, citing the ministry.

Stankov made this insight at the 10th ministerial meeting dedicated to discussing the project's status in Budapest.

"Stankov declared that Bulgaria has supported this initiative (Black Sea Energy project) from the beginning and is starting the procedure to join the project. He explained that Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD will join the corporate discussions on the project's feasibility study and will eventually acquire a stake in the GECO Power Company joint venture," the ministry stated.

The minister also highlighted that this initiative will allow Southeast Europe to benefit from the broad opportunities of green energy trade, the development of the renewable energy sector, and strengthening energy security.

In 2023, the Bulgarian Council of Ministers confirmed that Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD acquired a stake in the joint venture created for the implementation of the Black Sea Energy project.

The founding partners of the joint venture are Transelectrica (Romania), Georgian State Electrosystem (Georgia), Azerenerji (Azerbaijan), and MVM Energy (Hungary).

In the initial phase, the cable will be designed for the export of 4 GW of green energy.

On December 17, 2022, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary signed a strategic partnership agreement on the laying of the Black Sea Energy submarine cable with a capacity of 1 GW and a length of 1,195 km.

Bulgaria announced its intention to join the project in June 2023.

In May 2024, the energy operators of Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia, and Hungary signed a memorandum on the establishment of a joint venture within the framework of implementing the Black Sea Energy project.

In September, a shareholder agreement was signed between the four countries' energy operators - Azerenerji JSC, Transelectrica SA, Georgian State Electrosystem, and MVM on the establishment of the Green Energy Corridor joint venture that will implement this project.

The laying of the Black Sea energy cable is estimated at 3.5 billion euros and will take 3-4 years. The European Commission plans to allocate 2.3 billion euros to the project.

Construction work is expected to be completed within 3-4 years. The European Commission plans to allocate 2.3 billion euros to the project.