Energy services provider ESCO Bulgaria has started building a third solar photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of 6.5 MWp for a copper producer Aurubis.

The solar power plant, Auribis 3, will be completed and put into operation at the copper producer’s Pirdop plant by the end of 2024, ESCO Bulgaria said in a statement.

The Auribis 2 PV plant, with a capacity of 7 MWp, is also under construction and will be operational by the end of this year. The two projects are part of Aurubis’ 800 million levs (409 million euros) investment programme in Bulgaria.

In 2021, ESCO built Aurubis Bulgaria’s first solar park, with an installed capacity of 10 MWp. When all three PV parks are completed, they will cover nearly 10% of the Pirdop plant’s annual electricity consumption.

In April, Aurubis announced its plan to launch a fourth solar park next year, which would bring its total green energy capacity to 41 MWp.