Support for renewable energy for households – Opportunities under the Bulgarian Recovery and Resilience Plan

A call has been opened as from May 9th, 2023, coded BG-RRP-4.026: Support for renewable energy for households.
Applicants are invited to submit their proposals until 11:00 a.m. on November 10th, 2023.
Eligible to apply under the procedure referred to above are individuals who are Bulgarian nationals, nationals of another EU Member State or third-county nationals with permanent resident status in the Republic of Bulgaria, living in their own single-family home or their own housing unit in a multi-family residential building. The housing unit stated in the application must be the applicant’s principal home and the purpose of the application must be to replace an inefficient source of heat energy (a stove, a boiler, a fireplace, etc.) using solid fuel (coal, firewood, or the like). The applicant must have paid in full all applicable local taxes and charges due at the time of the application for the property where the installation or system is to be deployed.
Funding under this procedure is divided into two components:
Under Component 1, funding will be provided for the purchase of solar installations for domestic hot water supply (DHWS), whereby the hot water produced will be used for the applicant’s own needs; the maximum amount of the grant for a single project proposal is up to 100% of the cost of the installation, but not exceeding BGN 1,960.83.
By virtue of the amendments to article 151(1), subparagraph 19 of the Spatial Development Act (in force from January 20th, 2023), building permits will not be issued for retrofitting existing single-family homes and the landed properties adjacent thereto with heat energy installations using renewable energy sources (RES), the energy from which is to be used for the applicant’s own needs, unless the total installed capacity exceeds 20 kW. Enclosed with the applications regarding such installations must be the ‘Structural’ and ‘HVAC’ parts of the designs of the proposed installations, supported with drawings, sketches, calculations, technical specifications and instructions for the execution of the installation to ensure its safe operation.
A building permit will only be issued for retrofitting a single-family home with a heat energy installation using renewable energy sources (RES) if the combined installed capacity of the proposed installation exceeds 20 kW; for multi-family residential buildings a building permit will be issued in any event.
Under Component 2, funding will be provided for the purchase of photovoltaic systems of up to 10 kWp, including electric power storage systems; the maximum amount of a grant for a single proposal is up to 70% of the cost of the system, but not exceeding BGN 15,000. In other words, households will need to co-finance 30% of the cost under this component. No approval of a development project for the issuance of a building permit will be required for the construction of a power generating facility under article 25a(1) of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (RESA) with a total installed capacity of up to 5 MW.
By virtue of the amendments to article 151(1), subparagraph 19 of the Spatial Development Act (in force from January 20th, 2023), building permits will not be issued for building power generating facilities using renewable energy sources (RES) at existing single-family homes and the landed properties adjacent thereto, the electric power from which is to be used for the applicant’s own needs, unless the total installed capacity exceeds 20 kW. Enclosed with the applications regarding such installations must be the ‘Structural’ and ‘HVAC’ parts of the designs of the proposed installations, supported with drawings, sketches, calculations, technical specifications and instructions for the execution of the installation to ensure its safe operation and prevent the return of the power thus generated to a power distribution network, if the building is connected to one.
A building permit will only be issued for building power generating facilities using renewable energy sources (RES) at existing single-family homes if the combined installed capacity of the proposed facility exceeds 20 kW; for multi-family residential buildings a building permit will be issued in any event.
More detailed guidelines about filing an application can be accessed at: https://eumis2020.government.bg/bg/s/Procedure/Info/d5358ff6-70f3-49ba-96f1-ce8790300fb2