Appealing investment plans can turn areas like Maritsa East into prosperous industrial regions, Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov said on the weekly political talk show Panorama of Bulgarian National Television on Friday evening. Discussing ongoing protests by miners and energy workers over uncertainties about the future of the coal sector, Popov said the crisis is being contained. "The people are gradually accepting rational arguments," he noted.
He believes that, for years, there has been a serious communication deficit about the prospects of coal mining and electricity production from coal-fired power plants. Now, with local elections drawing near, the debate has become even more intense, Popov said. He called on all stakeholders to work hard for a balanced solution.
The minister argued that the decline of coal extraction is a global issue. He said: "In the space of a year, coal extraction has decreased by 50% in Bulgaria and 23% in Europe. We in the EU and the Bulgarian government are not just watching and doing nothing. Huge social packages have been prepared, on the one hand. On the other hand, we have highly appealing investment plans [...] We need to ensure stability of the regulatory framework to make investors feel secure."
"Coal has no future to speak of, but that does not mean that the workers in the sector, with their skills and qualifications, have no future either," Popov said. According to him, between 20% and 25% of those working in the Maritsa East energy complex have university degrees, and the rest have high technological competencies. "They would be a highly desirable workforce for any investor. The main goal is to keep these people in their home region," Popov said.
Discussing the territorial just transition plans, which have drawn much criticism from workers in the coal regions and trade unions, Popov said the plans may not be withdrawn, because Bulgaria has concluded an agreement with the EU. Brussels is expected to propose a model for the development of the Bulgarian energy industry, but it will not be legally binding. It will just serve as a guiding pattern. "They cannot make us cut our power plants into scrap," he said.
According to the environment minister, the future of coal-fired power plants depends on two things: first, on the market, and second, on the owners, who need to decide how to develop those plants. "Some of the owners already have plans to introduce highly advanced technologies and transform the power plants into systems running on biomass or waste," he noted.
If the plants are closed, he said, an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 people will be employed for at least 10 or 15 years to ameliorate those areas. "The practice is current in many coal-transition countries," he added.
Besides, Popov said, those regions would need to develop their infrastructure, which would require another 1,000 workers in the coming years. He reasoned: "If a hydrogen economy is to be developed, it means that solar energy will develop. Solar energy facilities will take between 10 and 15 years to build and will provide another 1,000 jobs. This is just the foundation for major industrial investments. The real problem will be that not enough staff will be available for such advanced technologies."
"If we want to be a major player on the electricity market, we should develop a regionally competitive power industry," the environment minister concluded.
/VE/
news.modal.text
