Sustainable Energy Successees

   

Wind-Powered Water Heating for a Mountain Villa near Sofia, Bulgaria

On Vitosha Mountain, at a remote rest villa owned by a municipal company whose primary business is public park- and garden maintenance, energy to heat space and water was in short supply. When the power lines reached out to this area, the owners were faced with an unpleasant surprise: high electricity prices.

Very windy conditions are common here. Grid electricity bills to heat space and water would be extremely high.

This disadvantage turned to a benefit when it helped the owners to qualify for an European-Union grant, a PHARE Programme renewable-energy demonstration project.

Publicly supported maintenance was arranged, and a wind turbine was installed on a windswept clearing near the villa. It provides enough electricity to power a heat-accumulating electric stove and a hot-water tank. In this way, thousands of kilowatt-hours are saved every month; the exact amount varies according to the season.