Macedonia’s ELEM to shut down Oslomej coal-fired power plant

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s state-owned electricity producer ELEM has decided to shut down its 125 MW Oslomej coal-fired power plant, with an installed capacity of 125 MW, according to a news release from the largest Macedonian electricity producer.

According to the news release, the decision to shut down the Oslomej thermal power plant was made over concerns of the local population, even though a defect in the plant’s fly ash handling system had been removed, enabling operations in line with environmental standards.

To offset the loss of the Oslomej plant’s capacity, ELEM will bring the Bitola thermal power plant’s unit 2 onstream.

Bitola has three units, with an installed capacity of 233 MW each and an annual output of around 1,200 GWh of electricity per unit.

Hydropower plants account for the largest portion, nearly 70%, of ELEM’s electricity generation capacities, according to ELEM’s website.