Bulgarian Constitutional Court to Revoke 20% Fee on Solar, Wind Power

Bulgaria's Constitutional Court (KS) is expected to revoke the 20% fee on the revenues of photovoltaic plants and wind farms.

The fee was introduced by Parliament in the beginning of 2014.

According to preliminary reports of Capital daily, based on sources close to the matter, the reporting judge on the case, Dimitar Tokushev, and the majority of judges at KS back the cancellation of the provisions.

The changes to the Renewable Energy Sources Act were introduced as part of the final provisions of the 2014 State Budget Act.

The 20% fee on revenues of photovoltaic plants and wind farms is transferred on a quarterly basis but the authorities have failed to approve a mechanism for spending the receipts from this fee.

According to Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), the fee generated receipts of BGN 36 M by end-March.

KS decisions have no retroactive application and the sums collected so far will not be restored to the companies.

The lawsuit was opened at the request of President Rosen Plevneliev, who referred the matter to KS in mid-January.

Bulgaria's head of state insisted that the new provisions had to be revoked because they only applied to photovoltaic plants and wind farms and not biomass power plants, hydroelectric power plants or combined heat and power (CHP) plants.

Meanwhile, lawyer Mihail Ekimdzhiev announced that he was preparing a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the fee, stressing that over 50 photovoltaic companies would join.