Five plants associated with the consultant Hristo Kovachki have saved at least 74,691,047 euros over five years by significantly reducing the data on greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere in their reports, according to the Environmental Association „For the Earth“.
„Toplofikatsia-Pernik“, „Toplofikatsia-Sliven“, TPP „Bobov dol“, TPP „Brickel“ and TPP „Maritsa 3“ AD have hidden a total of 1,957,682 tons of carbon dioxide with various technical methods under the noses of the responsible institutions. These are the conclusions of the expert report „The Hidden Picture of Carbon Dioxide Pollution: How Data Discrepancies Benefit Thermal Power Plants“ by the Kovachki Circle, commissioned by the Environmental Association.
The analysis comes just a day after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it is carrying out a large-scale action for fraud involving millions of euros related to the non-declaration of greenhouse gas emissions.
The report covers the years between 2017 and 2021 and uses only publicly available data on the quantities of fuels used, emission factors and greenhouse gas emissions of the installations. Serious inconsistencies are noticed, which could lead us to think of an institutional umbrella over the plant owners. The report will be used by EU „For the Earth“ as a signal to the institutions – Executive Agency for Environment and Bulgarian Accreditation Service.
The agencies report different data to different government agencies and there seems to be a lack of any communication between them, even between departments within the same institution, the Environment Executive Agency. In greenhouse gas reports submitted to the agency, reactors report reduced amounts of fuel used and carbon dioxide, which lowers their costs for carbon credits — a prerequisite for operating polluting industries such as coal reactors. In the data of the State Commission for Water and Energy Regulation, on which the determination of the price of electricity depends, a significantly larger amount of fuels is present.
Another way to „reduce“ emissions is by reporting emission factors that are too low compared to other sites in Bulgaria, as well as compared to recognized international factors for this type of fuel. There are cases of reported data for fuels and heat production with plant efficiency higher than 100%. This is technically unfeasible and also results in under-reporting of emissions. For example, if the amount of biomass used for the purposes of the annual environmental report in 2021 reported by „Toplofikatsia-Sliven“ EAD is accepted as true, it will turn out that the efficiency of the boilers is 337%. Lawyer Regina Stoilova commented:
“We asked the competent institutions if there were any gaps in the reports of these plants, and they informed us that episodic fines were imposed for the burning of unauthorized fuels in the order of several thousand BGN. Given the results of the research, made on the basis of the information checked by these institutions, this speaks of a very serious form of inaction.”
Saving part of the emissions in the data submitted by the leakers is impossible to happen without the assistance of emissions verification companies. In this case, these are GREEN AND FAIR AD — for the reports up to 2018 and GM Verify EOOD — from 2018 onwards. The traces of the real owners of GREEN AND FAIR AD are lost, as the company is registered with bearer shares — i.e. true owner unknown. However, the Bulgarian Accreditation Service, which monitors the independence of verifier companies, has issued and maintained an accreditation certificate for a company with an unclear owner for more than 10 years. GREEN AND FAIR ceases to be a verifier of the installations precisely in the year in which it changes the type of registration – 2019. The ownership of the verification bodies and the record low emissions are also mentioned in the report of „Greenpeace“-Bulgaria The Eight Circles of the Coal Empire of “ Blacksmiths“.
Coal plants from the „Kovachki“ circle are known for their systemic violations, by exceeding or burning fuels for which they do not have permits – biomass and RDF. For example, in Toplofikatsia Sliven in 2021, the amount of biomass reported in the greenhouse gas report was 203 times higher than allowed. The plants are penalized for this, but the „profits“ from the violations are higher since the plants continue to systematically violate their permits.
While the report shows significant inconsistencies in reported emissions, one of the plants cited in it, Bobov Dol TPP, even insists in public that it has embarked on the green transition path and even initiated the platform: “From Brown to Green — From Brown to Green”. But the predominance of data on undeclared greenhouse emissions and carbon allowances speaks of quite different intentions.
