Page 126 - bne IntelliNews Southeastern Europe Outlook 2025

Livno plans to install 19 units of 6.6-MW wind turbines at the Kamesnica mountain. The Siroka Draga wind farm is expected to produce 403 GWh of electricity per year.
The Siroka Draga project was launched in 2009 with wind measurements showing that the selected site had exceptional resource potential.
The wind park will be located at an altitude of 1,517 metres, in the intermediate vicinity of the border with Croatia. It has a capacity of 125 MW and an expected annual output of 400 GWh of electricity.
7.3 Energy & Power – Bulgaria
Due to the lack of a stable ruling majority and regular governments for most of the past three and a half years, Bulgaria is lagging behind with pledged reforms of its energy sector. That has led to a temporary freeze of the second tranche under the country’s Recovery and Resilience Plan by the European Commission (EC).
According to the EC, the country has failed to fulfil reforms regarding the liberalisation of the energy market, improving electricity generation from renewable sources, drafting a roadmap to climate neutrality, reforms aimed at the fight against corruption and the introduction of mandatory judicial mediation, public procurement and entrepreneurship.
Despite that, the country is putting efforts in developing its own sources of oil and gas, as well as to diversify its suppliers.
In December, the energy ministry picked Shell Exploration and Production – a subsidiary of Dutch Shell – for the exploration for oil and gas at the Khan Tervel block, located in the Black Sea. The tender for Block 1-26 Khan Tervel was launched in 2023. The government intends to issue a five-year permit for the 4,032-square km block. It can be extended three times by two years.
The work programme of the company includes complex geological and geophysical works, including the conduct of new 3-D seismic surveys, processing and interpretation of seismic data and assessment of the potential of the area.
The country also intends to join the green energy corridor linking the South Caucasus region to Europe across the Black Sea via a subsea interconnector. The green power corridor aims to transmit clean energy to Europe. A joint venture company that would implement the project was agreed between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary in September 2024. Under the project, a direct current high voltage underwater cable will connect Romania to Georgia through the Black Sea, with the connection being extended to Hungary and Azerbaijan.
At the same time, Bulgaria has said it could cut the transit of Russian natural gas through its territory to Serbia if Gazprom Export does not find a way to pay for this transit without the participation of
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