Burgas, BG

Burgas is located on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and is the fourth-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of approximately 211,000 inhabitants. In 2009, the city of Burgas joined the Covenant of Mayors’ Initiative and thus committed to reduce the municipality’s CO2 emissions by 25% by 2020.

To achieve this objective, the city intends to reduce energy use by 27% and increase the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix by 26% by 2020. This will be done through the renovation of existing municipal, social, cultural and educational infrastructure and the installation of solar panels on large roof areas including commercial and office buildings as well as manufacturing plants. In addition, the municipality is planning to install small wind power plants for industrial use and to set up a highly efficient heating system using biomass for small and medium businesses. As part of this strategy, the municipality has already carried out two projects for the integration of renewable energy sources in residential buildings and set up a new energy-efficient lighting system for the city. Additionally, Burgas has purchased new buses for urban transport to decrease its greenhouse gases emissions.

As a Replication City, the city of Burgas intends to share experiences with other European cities on the implementation of innovative solutions for energy-efficient district refurbishment and the integration of renewable energy sources.