The use of solar energy systems in Bulgaria is not as high is in Western Europe but the government is keen to promote and offer incentives to increase its popularity.

The State Energy and Water Regulatory commission, http://www.dker.bg has put together a feed-in tariff of 386 Euro's per MW/h for solar energy over a period of 25 years and this compares favourably with other schemes throughout the European Union.. A corporation tax of 10% has also been put in place to encourage businesses to also install solar power.

The cost of electricity in Bulgaria has been far lower than many other parts of Europe and this has been a high barrier to entry for many consumers as there was no reason for them to make an investment in the solar installation. This has now changed because the utility prices in this country are now on a par with the rest of Europe and the Government has introduced incentives to encourage solar use.

There are many old solar panel installations in Bulgaria, especially along the Black Sea coast and due to the transformation due to tourism over the past decade, many of these systems are in a poor state and unused, so the Government is investigating ways to encourage home owners and business users to take advantage of these installations.

Even though government incentives are available for solar installations the financial institutions in Bulgaria have very strict lending criteria and this rules out a high percentage of the countries home-owners due to the well documented financial problems in the country.

This financial situation is one of the main reasons why the Solar Energy market in Bulgaria is not as far advanced as countries such as the UK even though parts of Bulgaria do have a climate which ideally lends itself to the solar panel market.

It is estimated that the period of time required to recoup the initial investment for a an average size solar system in Bulgaria is in the region of 8 years. One of the main contributing factors in that figure is that the solar systems in Bulgaria are relatively cheap and the average cost of a system is $250 to $290 per square metre.

Research has shown that this is really the ceiling price at which the solar companies are able to enter the market due to the present financial conditions in the country.