The future of renewable energy in . . . Bulgaria?

I visited Bulgaria in 2003.  I had zero expectations.  Basically I was running out of places in Eastern Europe to visit, so I thought, what the hey.  I ended up loving the country—it’s one big open air museum, has friendly people, and great food and wine.

  I remember one downside, however:  the soot.  Most of Bulgaria is fueled by dirty coal.  But there’s hope:  investors are starting to pour billions of dollars into renewable technology investment in this nation of 8 million people.  And although I’m dubious of clean coal, a new coal burning project that is EU compliant just started last month.  Solar has a bright future in Bulgaria as well, as this southeastern Balkan country gets more than a fair bit of sunshine.  Finally, biomass is a huge opportunity because of the nation’s agriculture sector, and with much of the land covered in forest, Bulgaria could look north to Sweden for technologies such as cellulosic ethanol and DME from black liquor.

There’s some reason for worry however:  Bulgaria recently signed an agreement for the South Stream, a gas pipeline project that will bypass the Ukraine and deliver Russian gas as far as Serbia.  Considering Russia’s behavior and constant threats to shut off the gas for the smallest infraction (such as not letting a Russian diplomat drive his stolen Mercedes on a capital’s sidewalk), this may not be Bulgaria’s smartest move.  But hydropower is Bulgaria’s largest source of renewable energy, and this has been tapped out—what else is a nation that needs to import energy to do?

Nevertheless, now that Bulgaria is part of the EU, this promising country has even more access to other countries’ technologies and investment, and could prove to give many of its residents good high-paying jobs.