Serbia Moving Forward With 9.75 MW Solar Facility

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 21, A 9.75 MW solar facility in Serbia is due to be completed in early 2025. The Petka PV project is being built on 11.6 hectares at the site of a former mining dump in Kostolac, northeastern Serbia.

It is utility company Elektroprivreda Srbije’s first solar project. The utility’s general director, Dušan Živković, said solar panels are currently being installed and on schedule for completion by mid-February 2025.

Elektroprivreda Srbije also recently closed a public tender to connect the solar plant to the electricity distribution network. It is expected to be connected to the grid within the first quarter of 2025.

Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović visited the Petka site earlier this week.

“There are no big or small projects, every megawatt is needed, because it means additional energy security and safety,” she said. “With this production capacity, which will be online in the first three months of 2025, as well as the first EPS wind farm, which will also be in operation next year, we are definitely changing the image of our electricity industry.”

Đedović Handanović reported a 50% increase in Serbia's energy investments this year compared to 2023. These deals include an agreement between the Serbian government, Elektroprivreda Srbije, and a consortium of Hyundai Engineering and UGT Renewables to build six new solar plants totaling 1 GW. The plants will feature up to 200 MW of connected battery storage.

Earlier this year, the Serbian government backed plans for a 1 GW solar panel factory and another 500 MW of solar.

Figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) show that Serbia had cumulatively deployed 137 MW of solar by the end of 2023.