SOFIA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria needs to boost its energy security by implementing projects to ensure energy supplies to consumers amid expected higher demand, the country's Vice President Iliana Iotova said on Tuesday.
"The large projects in the Bulgarian energy sector must be united by a great ambition -- for the state to be a reliable guarantor of energy security for every consumer, but also a guarantor of accelerated economic development," Iotova said at a conference.
Tomorrow's world will be increasingly electric, and powerful and stable suppliers will be needed, she underlined.
Among the highlights of Iotova's speech was the development of nuclear energy within the context of Europe's changing position on the issue.
Nuclear power is a base energy source for all countries that have it and has an average share of 50 percent of the energy mix, Iotova stressed.
Currently, Bulgaria has one nuclear power plant, the 2,000-Megawatt (MW) Kozloduy NPP, which operates two 1,000-MW units. Meanwhile, the construction of two more nuclear plants is underway.
Iotova also said that Bulgaria has exceptional potential in solar and wind energy, but emphasized the need for stable energy storage systems and a reliable electricity transmission grid.
"Battery park, interconnector and 'smart grid' projects are no less strategic than nuclear ones," she said.
Iotova also addressed the territorial-regional aspect of energy projects, as well as the need to protect citizens in terms of security of supply and prices. ■
