VIDEO: Transforming wastewater into power in Bulgaria
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this episode of Water Matters, Euronews travels to Kubratovo wastewater treatment plant on the outskirts of Sofia. Urban wastewater from the city normally ends up here, and the process of providing clean water and treating that water once it’s used has a significant carbon footprint. However, Kubratovo is one of the most energy-efficient plants in Europe. It generates around 24,000 megawatt-hours of electricity and heat energy - enough to power 2,300 homes annually.
“We collect the wastewater from Sofia citizens. We treat it here so that it's clean when it enters the river. In the process, we produce biogas. This biogas is then transformed into electricity and heat. The heat is used for our processes and the electricity satisfies the needs of this plant.” Stanislav Stanev, the Technical Director at Veolia Bulgaria
Updated EU rules on treating wastewater
The EU has recently strengthened and updated the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, which sets common EU standards for treating wastewater. The updated rules will drive the wastewater sector towards energy and climate neutrality. They aim to reduce pollution, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions across the EU, improve water quality, and improve access to sanitation, especially for the most vulnerable. Following the ‘polluter pays' principle, the new law will also ensure that costs will be partially covered by the responsible industry, rather than by the water tariffs or the public budget.
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