European solar PV EPC contractor Sunotec says it is building a 124 MW solar power plant in Bulgaria as the country’s ‘largest’ PV project that alone will increase the nation’s solar power generation capacity by 12%.

The project has been under construction since September 2022 in the hilly Verila mountain range, east of Dupnitsa town, south of the country’s capital Sofia. A ground mounted facility, it is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2023.

The company claims to have installed over 6 GW solar capacity globally since its inception in 2012 in 16 countries. It operates from offices in Germany and Bulgaria.

Sunotec Founder and CEO Kaloyan Velichkov said, “Like many other countries in the EU, Bulgaria needs to dramatically increase its capacity in the renewable energy sector, especially in light of the current climate and energy crisis.”

Bulgaria’s cumulative installed solar power capacity at the end of 2022 will be 1.54 GW which means it reached halfway through its 2030 target of 3.216 GW. SolarPower Europe sees the target as low since the country has high irradiation rates which does not reflect in the target. The government also favors fossil fuels over solar and renewables, states the association in its EU Market Outlook For Solar Power 2022-2026 (see European Union To Exit 2022 With Over 41 GW Solar Installed).