Е-Публикации
Технически университет - София

Abstract: As a member state of the European Union, Bulgaria is committed to decarbonisation and the achievement of sustainable development goals. The country has a well-established energy sector and is a net exporter of electricity produced from diverse sources. Electricity generation relies mainly on two key pillars: lignite-fired Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) and the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Kozloduy. This study examines the status of Bulgarian state-owned energy companies (SOEC) and their capacity to respond to the challenges of a sustainable transition towards low- or zero-emission electricity production. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights from a comparative analysis of state-owned thermal and nuclear power generation in Bulgaria, examined through the lens of sustainable development. From a practical standpoint it contributes by outlining possible pathways for the sustainable transformation of carbon-intensive TPPs. The analy-sis is based on key sustainability indicators covering the three pillars of sustainable development—economic, social and environmental performance. It includes not only an assessment of the financial performance of state-owned thermal power plants and the nuclear power plant over the past five years but also selected social and environmental indicators. The findings suggest that nuclear energy production in Bulgaria is largely consistent with the core principles of sustainability, while coal-based thermal power plants face increasing economic pressures and contribute to significant environmental impacts. The results highlight the need to transform the coal-based electricity sector into a more economically viable and socially responsible alternative, such as low-carbon generation technologies including nuclear energy.

References

1. Sartor O. Implementing Coal Transitions: Insights from Case Studies of Major Coal-Consuming Economie Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) Paris, France 2018
2. Vine E. Building a sustainable organizational energy evaluation system in the Asia Pacific Glob. Energy Interconnect. 2019 2 378 385 10.1016/j.gloei.2019.11.012
3. Berga L. The Role of Hydropower in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: A Review Engineering 2016 2 313 318 10.1016/J.ENG.2016.03.004
4. Kabeyi M.J.B. Oludolapo A.O. Managing Sustainability in Electricity Generation Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management Singapore 14–17 December 2020
5. Bocci E. Renewable Energy Technologies: Wind, Mini-Hydro, Thermal, Photo-Voltaic Biomass and Waste Survey of Appropriate Technologies and Perspectives for Latin America and the Caribbean ICS—Unido International Centre for Science and High Technology Trieste, Italy 2008
6. Strielkowski W. Civín L. Tarkhanova E. Tvaronavičienė M. Petrenko Y. Renewable Energy in the Sustainable Development of Electrical Power Sector: A Review Energies 2021 14 8240 10.3390/en14248240
7. Qiu Y. Cohen S. Suh S. Decarbonization scenarios of the U.S. Electricity system and their costs Appl. Energy 2022 325 119679 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119679
8. Ebrahimi M. Rahmani D. A five-dimensional approach to sustainability for prioritizing energy production systems using a revised GRA method: A case study Renew. Energy 2019 135 345 354 10.1016/j.renene.2018.12.008
9. Kolagar M. Hosseini S.M.H. Felegari R. Fattahi P. Policy-making for renewable energy sources in search of sustainable development: A hybrid DEA-FBWM approach Environ. Syst. Decis. 2020 40 485 509 10.1007/s10669-019-09747-x
10. Demirel Y. Energy, Green Energy and Technology Springer London, UK 2012
11. Lund H. Renewable energy strategies for sustainable development Energy 2007 32 912 919 10.1016/j.energy.2006.10.017
12. Kabeyi M.J.B. Olanrewaju O.A. Sustainable Energy Transition for Renewable and Low Carbon Grid Electricity Generation and Supply Front. Energy Res. 2022 9 3114 10.3389/fenrg.2021.743114
13. Krzywda J. Krzywda D. Androniceanu A. Managing the Energy Transition through Discourse. The Case of Poland Energies 2021 20 6471 10.3390/en14206471
14. Bruckner T. Bashmakov I.A. Mulugetta Y. Chum H. De la Vega Navarro A. Edmonds J. Faaij A. Fungtammasan B. Garg A. Hertwich E. et al. Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Edenhofer O. Pichs-Madruga R. Sokona Y. Cambridge University Press Cambridge, UK 2014 511 598
15. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050 International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 2018
16. Ucal M. Xydis G. Multidirectional Relationship between Energy Resources, Climate Changes and Sustainable Development: Technoeconomic Analysis Sustain. Cities Soc. 2020 60 102210 10.1016/j.scs.2020.102210
17. Cherp A. Vinichenko V. Jewell J. Brutschin E. Sovacool B. Integrating techno-economic, socio-technical and political perspectives on national energy transitions: A meta-theoretical framework Energy Res. Soc. Sci. 2018 37 175 190 10.1016/j.erss.2017.09.015
18. Kabeyi M.J.B. Oludolapo A.O. Characteristics and Applications of Geothermal Wellhead Powerplants in Electricity Generation Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the South African Institution of Industrial Engineers Online 5–7 October 2020
19. Liu G. Development of a general sustainability indicator for renewable energy systems: A review Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2014 31 611 621 10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.038
20. Wong P. Lai J. Energy Transitions in Cities: A Comparative Analysis of Policies and Strategies in Hong Kong, London, and Melbourne Energies 2025 18 37 10.3390/en18010037
21. Oliveira J.C. Nogueira M.C. Madaleno M. Do the Reduction of Traditional Energy Consumption and the Acceleration of the Energy Transition Bring Economic Benefits to South America? Energies 2023 16 5527 10.3390/en16145527
22. Huang J. Xiang Y. Duan X. Du M. Digital Infrastructure Construction and Energy Efficiency: A Quasi-Natural Experiment with Double Machine Learning Emerg. Mark. Finance Trade 2026 1 15 10.1080/1540496X.2026.2617478
23. Yang X. Song Y. Wang G. Wang W. A Comprehensive Review on the Development of Sustainable Energy Strategy and Implementation in China IEEE Trans. Sustain. Energy 2010 1 57 65 10.1109/TSTE.2010.2051464
24. Benoit P. Engaging State-Owned Enterprises in Climate Action Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University SIPA Columbia, NY, USA 2019
25. Clark A. Benoit P. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from State-Owned Enterprises: A Preliminary Inventory Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University SIPA Columbia, NY, USA 2022
26. Mayer B. Rajavuori M. State ownership and climate change mitigation: Overcoming the carbon curse? Carbon Clim. Law Rev. 2017 11 223 233
27. Clò S. Ferraris M. Florio M. Ownership and environmental regulation: Evidence from the European electricity industry Energy Econ. 2017 61 298 312 10.1016/j.eneco.2016.12.001
28. Meyer A. Pac G. Environmental performance of state-owned and privatized eastern European energy utilities Energy Econ. 2013 36 205 214 10.1016/j.eneco.2012.08.019
29. Primova D.R. Vladimirov M. Trifonova D.M. Towards a Just Transition in Bulgaria Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) Sofia, Bulgaria 2022
30. National Statistical Institute (NSI) Emissions of Harmful Substances into the Air from Production Processes, Services and Households 2023 Available online: https://www.nsi.bg/statistical-data/73/267 (accessed on 14 October 2025)
31. Yin R.K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods 6th ed. Sage Publications Thousand Oaks, CA, USA 2018
32. Bowen G.A. Document analysis as a qualitative research method Qual. Res. J. 2009 9 27 40 10.3316/QRJ0902027
33. Heaton J. Reworking Qualitative Data SAGE Publications Thousand Oaks, CA, USA 2004
34. Johnston M.P. Secondary data analysis: A method of which the time has come Qual. Quant. Methods Libr. 2014 3 619 626
35. United Nations Statistics Division Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics United Nations New York, NY, USA 2014
36. Yin R.K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods 2nd ed. Sage Publications Thousand Oaks, CA, USA 1994
37. The International Energy Agency (IEA) 2025 Available online: https://www.iea.org/countries/bulgaria/energy-mix (accessed on 28 September 2025)
38. Bulgarian Energy Holding Financial Reports 2025 Available online: https://bgenh.com/en/page/55/Financial-reports.html (accessed on 10 February 2026)
39. Bulgaria’s Recovery and Resilience Plan 2022 Available online: https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience-facility/country-pages/bulgarias-recovery-and-resilience-plan_en (accessed on 18 September 2025)
40. Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria Territorial Plan for a Just Transition in the Stara Zagora Region Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria 2023
41. Pavlov T. The Political Economy of Coal in BULGARIA: The Silent Phase-Out The Political Economy of Coal. Obstacles to Clean Energy Transitions Michael Jakob J.C.S. Routledge London, UK 2022 40 59
42. Apostolopoulos N. Kakouris A. Liargovas P. Borisov P. Radev T. Apostolopoulos S. Daskou S. Anastasopoulou E.Ε. Just Transition Policies, Power Plant Workers and Green Entrepreneurs in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria: Can Education and Retraining Meet the Challenge? Sustainability 2023 15 16307 10.3390/su152316307
43. Topaloglou L. Kouskoura A. Janikowska O. Grozeva R. Nikolaidou K. Karagiannis I. Kulczycka J. The interplay between just energy transition and community engagement: Assessing collaborative pathways in Greece, Poland and Bulgaria Energy Res. Soc. Sci. 2024 116 103708 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103708
44. Obshtini 2025 Available online: https://265obshtini.bg (accessed on 18 September 2025)
45. Searchinger T.D. Hamburg S.P. Melillo J. Chameides W. Havlik P. Kammen D.M. Likens G.E. Lubowski R.N. Obersteiner M. Oppenheimer M. et al. Climate change: Fixing a critical climate accounting error Science 2009 326 527 528 10.1126/science.1178797
46. International Energy Agency Sustainable Recovery: Bioenergy and the Role of Coal-to-Biomass Conversion IEA Paris, France 2020
47. Haberl H.H. Erb K.-H. Krausmann F. Gaube V. Bondeau A. Plutzar C. Gingrich S. Fischer-Kowalski M. The global technical potential of bio-energy in 2050 considering sustainability constraints Biomass Bioenergy 2011 35 475 484 10.1016/j.cosust.2010.10.007
48. Sokhansanj S. Kumar A. Turhollow A.F. Cost and greenhouse gas emissions of biomass supply chains Appl. Energy 2013 102 1420 1428
49. International Renewable Energy Agency Transformation of Coal-Fired Power Plants to Biomass IRENA Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 2019
50. Todorov G. Kralov I. Koprev I. Vasilev H. Naydenova I. Coal Share Reduction Options for Power Generation during the Energy Transition: A Bulgarian Perspective Energies 2024 17 929 10.3390/en17040929
51. International Atomic Energy Agency Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments IAEA Vienna, Austria 2022
52. World Nuclear Association Nuclear Power in Bulgaria World Nuclear Association London, UK 2023
53. International Energy Agency Nuclear Power and Secure Energy Transitions IEA Paris, France 2022
54. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency The Full Costs of Electricity Provision OECD/NEA Paris, France 2018
55. SMR-300 Product Data 2024 Available online: https://holtecinternational.com/products-and-services/smr (accessed on 20 September 2025)
56. Staffing Requirements for Future Small and Medium Reactors (TECDOC-1193) 2020 Available online: https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/te_1193_prn.pdf (accessed on 20 September 2025)
57. International Atomic Energy Agency Workforce Planning for New Nuclear Power Programmes IAEA Vienna, Austria 2020
58. European Commission Just Transition Mechanism: Supporting Regions Most Affected by the Transition to Climate Neutrality European Commission Brussels, Belgium 2021
59. International Energy Agency Managing the Integration of Variable Renewable Energy IEA Paris, France 2020
60. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Electricity Storage and Renewables: Costs and Markets to 2030 IRENA Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 2017
61. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) End-of-Life Management: Solar Photovoltaic Panels IRENA Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 2016
62. International Labour Organization World Employment and Social Outlook 2018: Greening with Jobs ILO Geneva, Switzerland 2018
63. International Energy Agency Putting CO2to Use: Creating Value from Emissions IEA Paris, France 2019
64. Zgureva D. Boycheva S. Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Generated in Thermal Power Plants for Production of Synthetic Fuels: An Overview Proceedings of the International Energy Forum 2020 Sofia, Bulgaria 23–26 June 2020
65. Mennicken L. Janz A. Roth S. The German R&D Program for CO2Utilization—Innovations for a Green Economy Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2016 23 11386 11392 10.1007/s11356-016-6641-1
66. Bardow A. Müller E.A. Carbon dioxide utilisation: Closing the carbon cycle Energy Environ. Sci. 2019 12 40 61
67. European Commission Production of Sustainable, Advanced Bioethanol Through an Integrated Cross-Sector Industrial Symbiosis Value Chain EC: CORDIS project reporting European Commission Brussels, Belgium 2026

Issue

Copyright MDPI Energies