The Constitutional Court has repealed the legal facilities for building photovoltaics on arable land. They were introduced two years ago, BNT reported.
At that time, President Rumen Radev referred the matter to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that this created a risk of uncontrolled conversion of agricultural land into power plants.
In order to change the purpose of agricultural land and build photovoltaics on it, permission was sought 2 years ago from the Agricultural Land Commission, which approved a site and route. Based on it, a development plan was prepared, and the same commission was again sought to remove the site in question from the agricultural fund.
With legal changes in 2023, this onerous procedure was abolished. Even then, President Radev stated that the changes create a risk of uncontrolled conversion of agricultural areas into power plants and referred the matter to the Constitutional Court.
The court's reasons for now overturning the changes are similar: that the implementation of simplified procedures for the production of renewable energy should not be at the expense of agricultural lands, which are a limited resource.
"The implementation of simplified procedures for the promotion of the production of renewable energy should not be at the expense of agricultural lands, which are a limited and non-renewable resource", the Constitutional Court stated.
"The Constitutional Court's decision is final, it is not subject to appeal and, in reality, it returns the old order from before 2023, which was quite strict and complex and was introduced in order to comply with the Constitution's requirement to protect our agricultural land," explained Plamen Abrovski, an agricultural lawyer law.
The Photovoltaic Association is not surprised by the court's decision and fully accepts the magistrates' reasoning.
"As investors, we believe that this is right, because our business, namely the construction of photovoltaic power plants, must contribute to environmental protection and not harm agricultural lands in Bulgaria," said Meglena Rusenova, President of the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association.
The industry association also stated that even during the simplified procedures, photovoltaic power plants on agricultural lands were not built, as this is also prohibited by other Bulgarian laws.
"I do not believe that the Constitutional Court's decision will stop the investment process in photovoltaic power plants. On the contrary, I think that the public interest is protected and the construction of photovoltaic power plants will be carried out in compliance with environmental and agricultural legislation".
According to the Association, over 4,000 megawatts of photovoltaic power plants have been built in Bulgaria. Against the background of the total territory of the country, this is negligible and they are built on territories unsuitable for agricultural activity.