Bulgaria's deputy minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Mariy Kossev has resigned, it emerged on Wednesday just minutes after the news about the resignation of Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov broke.

Kossev will be replaced by Delyan Dobrev, member of parliament from the ruling GERB party, who has so far served as deputy chair of the energy commission.

Mariy Kosev is the second deputy minister in charge of the energy sector. He succeeded Maya Hristova, who was also removed from the management of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH). Kosev spent less than a year on this job because Maya Hristova was ousted on June 04, 2010.

According to GERB MPs, Mariy Kosev is the author of the new Renewable Energy Act, whose adoption caused tensions between Bulgarian business and the government. Politicians from the parliamentary majority were angered that they had to bear the brunt of defending the project instead of letting the author explain his motives.

Delyan Dobrev was among the most vocal GERB MPs during the discussion of the renewable energy act.

On May 04, the Bulgarian Wind Energy Association declared that the Renewable Energy Act contradicts the Bulgarian Constitution and EU law. In a devastatingly critical statement, the organization cautioned that the newly adopted legislation will shatter Bulgaria's energy future.

According to the statement, the new law will practically encourage an absolute standstill in the industry. The Association claims that the worst flaw of the Renewable Energy Act is that the investors will be finding out the price at which they will be selling their energy only after the construction of their power generating facilities is completed.