Maritsa Iztok-1 Power Station
{{#badges:CoalSwarm|Navbar-Bulgariaandcoal}}Maritsa Iztok Complex (Iztok means East in Bulgarian) is the largest energy complex in South Eastern Europe. It consist of the Maritsa Iztok-1 power station, Maritsa Iztok-2 power station, and Maritsa Iztok-3 power station in Bulgaria.
Contents
Location
The map below shows Maritsa Iztok-1 in Stara Zagora Province.
Background on Maritsa Iztok Complex
The power complex is located in Stara Zagora Province, south-central Bulgaria. It consists of three lignite-fired thermal power stations. It is located in a large lignite coal basin, which includes several mines, enrichment plants, a briquette plant and its own railway system.
The development of the thermal power and mining complex at Maritsa Iztok began in 1952, but the lignite deposits used to be known well in the mid 19 century. The Maritsa Iztok mines and power plants are interdependent as the only market for coal is the power plants, while the power plants have no other supplier of coal but the mines.[1]
Maritsa Iztok-1 (TPS AES Galabovo)
Maritsa Iztok-1 is located near Galabovo. In October 1998, the old power plant with a capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) was privatized and sold to Consolidated Continental Commerce (3C), later purchased by AES Corporation. On 15 February 2000, AES and the Bulgarian grid operator NEK EAD signed a 15-year tolling agreement, according to which AES has an obligation to replace the old power station with a new facility.[2]
In June 2006, AES started construction of the new 670 MW power station.[3] It became operational on 3 June 2011.[4] The new power station consists of two pulverised coal boilers of 335 MW each, two steam turbines, two generators and desulphurisation facilities.[3] The plant was constructed by Alstom.[3] It cost €1.2 billion.[4] It is the first large-scale power plant built in Bulgaria in the last 20 years, and the single largest foreign investment in Bulgaria and one of the largest green field investments in South East Europe.[3][5]
The plant will get its coal through a 15-year lignite supply agreement with the state-owned mining company, Maritsa East Mines, and a 15-year power purchase agreement with Bulgaria’s state-owned electricity monopoly, NEC. Funding was provided by a group of banks led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.[6]
Resources and articles
References
- ↑ Velinova, Sia (2007-06-08). "Bulgaria Maritsa Iztok Picks Favourite", SeeNews. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
- ↑ Vatahov, Ivan (2002-07-11). "AES granted licence". Retrieved on 2008-03-16. }
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Vatahov, Ivan (2006-06-26). "Bulgaria's reactor closure aftershocks". Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Coal-fired power plant enters service in Bulgaria", Power Engineering, PennWell Corporation (2011-06-03). Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
- ↑ Kostadinov, Petar (2006-11-20). "Social policy projects for Bulgaria's Maritsa-Iztok". Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
- ↑ "AES starts operation of its 600-megawatt power plant in Bulgaria" AP, June 3, 2011.
External Articles
- Sia Velinova, "Bulgaria Maritsa Iztok Picks Favourite", SeeNews, June 8, 2007.
Related SourceWatch Articles
Wikipedia also has an article on Maritsa Iztok-1 Power Station. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
