Bulgaria will establish a new government agency in 2011 that will be in
charge of
sustainable energy
development
, according to the country’s new sector strategy by 2020, Dnevnik wrote.
The document was presented on Thursday, just hours after it was submitted with
the European Commission (EC). The new government body will succeed the existing
Energy Efficiency Energy, which will be closed.
The new sustainable
development agency will develop and maintain a geographical information system
encompassing maps of the areas eligible for renewable energy development.
According to the original plan, the maps had to be drawn by the Ministry of
Economy on the basis of data provided by the ministries of environment and
agriculture.
On
Wednesday
30th June
, the Bulgarian Parliament approved at first
reading the new Agriculture Land Protection Act, which bans clean energy
generation on cropland included in categories one through
four.
The only exception will be the sites included in the geographical
information system. However, before it comes into being in 2011, no new
applications for renewable energy projects will be accepted for these areas.