The run-of-river Vez Svoghe Mini-Hydro project is to be constructed by Vez Svoghe Ltd., a company owned 90 percent by Petrolvilla Bulgaria and 10 percent by the municipality of Svoghe. Petrovilla Bulgaria is a subsidiary of Italian energy developer Petrolvilla & Bortolotti S.p.A. Two of the small projects, Lakatnik and Svrazhen, are already under construction with partial funding from the Bulgarian Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Credit Line.
Lakatnik and Svrazhen are to be built in cascade with the Opeltnya, Levishte, and Gabrovnitsa plants. Another cascade is to include Bov South and Bov North. The other two individual plants in the project are Prokopanik and Tserovo. The plants will include concrete weirs ranging from 6.5 to 11.1m tall, with valves and slide gates to stop sediment buildup, and fish passage structures. The power plants are to be fully automated to maintain a constant water level and to avoid flooding. The plants’ total annual generation of 137.2 million kilowatt-hours will be delivered to Bulgaria’s national grid.
