GdF to build biomass plants in Bulgaria

France-based energy company GdF Suez is planning to build a number of biomass-fired power plants across Bulgaria, ahead of new renewable energy laws that will emphasise the generation of power from biomass.

The project, which will see power plants built in four Bulgarian towns, is expected to cost GdF an estimated €100 million, according to Miroslav Naidenov, agriculture minister.

GdF's existing biomass-powered facilities generate a total 695MW energy and are located mainly in the US and Brazil. In 2010 the company announced that it was looking to erect Poland's largest biomass plant.

The news comes as the nation prepares to meet its target of 433MW energy generated from biomass feedstock by the year 2020. If the target is met, it will mean that 16% of Bulgaria's total energy production will come from renewable energy sources.

Bulgaria has plenty of biomass feedstock available to fuel more power plants. Naidenov explains that while Bulgarian forests have been increasing by approximately 4,000 hectares a year, the waste biomass is not being utilised, but is instead being left to decay.