The role of the state is to create conditions for predictability and compliance with the rules, and large-scale investments in energy imply active participation of private capital. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Energy Krasimir Nenov during this year's edition of the Powers Summit - a platform for dialogue between the authorities, business, science and the civil sector.
Within the "Energy" panel of the forum, the business outlined three main priorities for the development of the sector in the coming year: preparation of a national list of critical raw materials; development of physical and commercial connectivity, including integration of the electricity market in the EU; transparency for trading participants from the European PICASSO and MARI systems.
The development of rare earth elements may provide a chance for the industrial complex “Maritsa-East“ to move out of the “coal region“ framework and acquire a new industrial value, said Deputy Minister Nenov. In front of the participants in the discussion, he recalled the joint work of “Mini Maritsa-East“ EAD and the Geological Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the aim of which is to establish the potential of these elements in lignite coal through laboratory analyses. This initial laboratory work will be verified by scientists from the University of North Dakota - a world-renowned leader in technologies for extracting rare earth elements from coal, noted Krasimir Nenov. The goal is to have a representative and scientifically protected assessment of the real potential of the deposits. These opportunities can put the region of “Maritsa-East“ at the forefront of global supply chains and the race for raw materials.
In terms of commercial and physical connectivity, Deputy Minister Nenov introduced the participants to key projects that the Electricity System Operator is working on - the East-West and North-South energy corridors, as well as the Carmen and GREENABLER projects. They envisage targeted investments to increase the capacity and modernization of the network, as well as to increase its transmission capabilities.
Earlier this year, ESO EAD became the first electricity transmission operator in Southeastern Europe to successfully join the PICASSO platform for automatic secondary regulation of frequency and exchange capacities. The connection to the European balancing platform for manual secondary regulation MARI is planned for next year, Deputy Minister Nenov indicated, responding to the need for more transparency for commercial market participants.