Green Forum • 25 February, 2025 at 7:39 PM
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has supported the Ministry of Mining and Energy in designing and implementing Serbia's second renewables auction through technical assistance, co-funded by the Swiss government via SECO.
The success of this process is reflected in the strong investor interest and highly competitive prices, with up to 10 new wind and solar power plants set to be built.
Investors submitted 41 project proposals in the second auction round, significantly exceeding the offered quota of 424.8 MW for solar and wind power. The total capacity of the plants that has won support is up to 645 MW. Seven projects were submitted for wind farms, while 34 applications were received for solar power plants. The offered prices are highly competitive, with bids as low as €50.9 per megawatt-hour for solar energy and €53.6 per megawatt-hour for wind energy.
Matteo Colangeli, the EBRD's Regional Director for the Western Balkans, said: “We are pleased to have supported the Ministry of Mining and Energy in designing and implementing these auctions, following the successful experience with the first round conducted in 2023. The results speak for themselves - high investor interest and competitive prices. Through this model, we helped Serbia to establish an efficient and market driven system to continue scaling up its renewable energy capacity, attracting investments and strengthening its energy security.”
Dubravka Đedović Handanović, Minister of Mining and Energy, said: “The second round of auctions was extremely successful, both in terms of capacity and offered prices. The affordable renewable energy generated by the incentivized plants will flow towards our economy and citizens. Seven projects were submitted for wind farms, while 34 applications were received for solar power plants. Under our incentive model, this means we do not expect the need for subsidies for these power plants. Instead, they will mostly return excess profits to the state as long as market prices remain higher than those offered by the auction winners.”
The EBRD currently supports 16 countries with preparing and conducting renewables energy auctions. To date, these have delivered over c. 8,100 MW of capacity being awarded in 8 countries.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Serbia and has invested more than €9.8 billion through 372 projects to date. The Bank's focus in Serbia is on private sector competitiveness, the green economy transition and sustainable infrastructure.