Entergy says to cut pollution at Bulgarian plant
© 2000 Reuters Limited
June 21, 2000
Story by Liliana Semerdjieva
SOFIA - U.S. energy company Entergy said on Tuesday it planned to invest over $100 million in reducing pollution at Bulgaria's coal-fired power plant at the Maritsa East lignite coal complex.
The investment is part of a $460 million project to upgrade and operate an 840-megawatt plant at the Maritsa East Three section. Entergy Corp holds 67 percent in the project and the rest belongs to Bulgaria's National Electricity Company. Work is expected to start later this year.
A company statement said installations which would be built at the plant's four units would help reduce sulphur dioxide emission into the air by 90-95 percent.
Thermal power plants in Bulgaria's biggest lignite mining centre Maritsa East, 250 km (160 miles) south-east of Sofia, are not supplied with sulphur installations and the complex is considered the most polluted place in Bulgaria.
Maritsa East, which supplies around 30 percent of the country's electricity, has reserves of up to three billion tonnes of lignite coal.