The Association for Production, Storage and Trading of Electricity (APSTE) warned that the government’s disproportionately high fees for photovoltaic panels and energy storage batteries are preventing the possibility of having permanently low electricity prices in Bulgaria. They also threaten the implementation of key projects under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

The fees that the government charges don’t reflect the real recycling cost, given that they are five to 10 times higher than the average fees in the European Union, according to APSTE.

The product fee for solar panels is currently BGN 0.90 (EUR 0.46) per kilogram – over 11 times higher than the same levy in the Netherlands.

It increases the price of panels by about 35%, which leads to about a 10% increase in the cost of turnkey solar power plants, APSTE stressed.

The fees threaten the installation of 9,000 MWh of storage capacity

The impact is similar for lithium-ion batteries. With a rate of BGN 5.50 (EUR 2.81) per kilogram, the fee makes batteries nearly 19% more expensive. Another issue is that the cost isn’t foreseen in the business models of the projects financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, according to the association.

It threatens the profitability of 9,000 MWh of storage capacity set to come online by the end of 2026, putting at risk one of the most important energy reforms in the country, the organization underlined.

Of note, in April, the Ministry of Energy approved EUR 587 million in subsidies for developers of 82 standalone battery storage projects, for an overall 9.71 GWh in capacity. The scheme is part of NRRP.

Gazdov: The government artificially increases the price of a panel by 35% and that of batteries by 19% 

The fees jeopardize future investments in battery energy storage systems (BESS), which are key to the operation of the electricity system and to reducing the price of electricity for end users, according to APSTE.

“It is absurd that the state artificially increases the price of a panel by 35% and that of batteries by 19% – just when solar power plants and storage systems are starting to provide a permanently low price for electricity,” APSTE chairman Nikola Gazdov stated.

In his words, there is no economic logic for the government’s fee for recycling batteries and solar panels in Bulgaria to be 10 times higher than in Central and Western Europe.

A similar case has occurred in Croatia. E.ON Croatia raised the issue of high waste fees on solar panels of EUR 300 per ton, up to six times more than in other European Union countries.

Outdated regulation threatens technologies that provide lower bills for people and industry

APSTE stressed that Bulgaria already covers a large part of its daily electricity consumption with solar energy, tumbling wholesale power prices to extremely low levels. Now BESS is starting to transfer the effect of cheap solar electricity to the evening peak consumption, when prices are traditionally higher.

At a time when Bulgarian households and businesses need cheap energy the most, outdated regulation with unreasonably high fees threatens technologies that already provide lower bills for people and industry, APSTE noted.

The association called on the government to urgently revise the regulation on product taxes, with the aim of bringing it to average EU levels:

• Between EUR 50 and EUR 100 (BGN 100 to BGN 200) per ton, or BGN 0.10 to BGN 0.20 per kilogram of PV panels.
• Between EUR 600 and EUR 1,000 per ton (BGN 1,200 to BGN 2,000 per tonne), or BGN 1.2 to BGN 2 per kilogram of lithium-ion batteries.

APSTE has submitted a letter addressing the matter to the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Environment and Water.