Huge Court Decision in Bulgaria Shuts the Door on Solar
Excerpt:
BULGARIA
Constitutional court shuts the door to solar farms on fertile land. Bulgaria’s top Court ruled that the installation of agrophotovoltaics (APV) on arable land – used to produce both solar energy and agricultural products in the same area – is unconstitutional.
The case comes after the Bulgarian parliament voted in September to change the Farmland Conservation Act as part of a reform package to unblock funding for projects under the EU Recovery and Resilience Plan. The amendments would allow for solar panels to be installed on fertile land, which raised alarms in the agricultural community.
The court said that arable land should only be used for agricultural purposes, with exceptions allowed only in cases of proven need. The ruling said such a need had not been discussed or proven, adding that the objections of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food had not been taken into account.
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