Bulgaria is set to dramatically expand its wind power output in the next 10 years, delegates at a workshop on integrating wind power in Bulgaria heard today. From the current 330 MW installed to over 3,000 MW by 2020, wind energy will meet 13.5% of Bulgaria's electricity demand. The workshop, organised by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) in cooperation with the Bulgarian Association of Producers of Ecological Energy (APEE), pooled industry, government representatives, and national electricity companies together to discuss the potential for wind power development in the country.

"With installed capacity increasing more than fivefold in less than two years, Bulgaria is one of the fastest growing markets for wind energy in the world. Moreover, it has another 8,000 MW of wind projects in the pipeline. If current planning and grid access barriers are streamlined, Bulgaria will soon be one of Europe's wind energy front-runners, reaping the economic benefits in the form of new jobs, reduced fuel import dependency and technology development," said Christian Kjaer, EWEA's Chief Executive.