Independent renewable energy producer Rezolv Energy has commissioned the 225MW St. George solar park in Silistra, Bulgaria.
This marks the company’s first large-scale project to become operational, achieving full functionality in less than three years after the acquisition of development rights.
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The solar facility is among the largest in Bulgaria and a significant advancement in the nation’s clean energy journey.
Constructed on a 165-hectare brownfield site that was formerly the Silistra airport, the project illustrates the environmental and economic benefits of repurposing under-utilised land.
The solar park is expected to operate for at least 30 years.
Silistra Mayor Alexandar Sabanov said: “Green energy production represents the future of Europe and the world. The fact that the municipality of Silistra will host a solar power plant of this size places us in a prominent position on the national map.”
With an investment of roughly $300m, the St. George facility includes nearly 400,000 solar panels.
It is set to produce approximately 313GW-hours (GWh) of electricity annually.
The project features a 90MW/240MW-hour battery storage system, funded partly by the EU’s NextGenerationEU programme, designed to improve flexibility and grid stability by storing energy during peak sunlight for later use.
Developed in collaboration with Bulgarian and international partners, Sofia-based Solarpro and CMC Europe served as engineering, procurement and construction partners.
Green Solar Energy, another Bulgarian company, managed the high-voltage work necessary for grid integration.
The construction of St. George was supported by a long-term virtual power purchase agreement with Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe (AGP-Europe), part of the Ardagh Group.
This agreement, one of the first in Bulgaria, will provide 110GWh of renewable electricity to AGP-Europe annually for a duration of 12 years.
Additionally, the construction phase benefitted from €90m ($105.7m) in debt financing from the International Finance Corporation and Raiffeisen Bank International.
Rezolv Energy CEO Alastair Hammond said: “St. George began as a vision to transform a disused brownfield site into a flagship renewable energy project that could make a meaningful contribution to Bulgaria’s energy security and climate goals.
“Today, that vision has become reality. Importantly, it also marks Rezolv Energy’s transition from builders to operators and long-term custodians of critical clean energy infrastructure.”
