Greek Mytilineos awarded strategic investment status for gas CHP in North Macedonia

The Government of North Macedonia granted a strategic investment project status to the future gas cogeneration power plant under development by Greek company Mytilineos.

North Macedonia has been selecting strategic investment projects with the aim to speed up the construction of power plants and increase domestic energy production. The gas power plant project is also part of the country’s strategy to shut down its coal-fired power plants by 2030.

The Government of North Macedonia declared Mytilineos’ project for cogeneration plant Skopje a strategic investment. The company’s subsidiary Mytilineos DOOEL is developing the plan for the construction of a facility for the production of electricity and heat.

The investment is estimated at EUR 211 million. The planned capacity is 90 megawatts (MW) to 105 MW for electricity and 135 MW to 150 MW for heat.

The government uses the strategic investment model to increase domestic energy production

The expected annual production is about 1,150 GWh of electricity and about 275 GWh of thermal energy, which should be delivered to transmission system operator MEPSO and the district heating system of the capital city, the government.

The decision was made after a public call launched on January 31. The government published such public calls every January.

According to the government, the strategic investment status was awarded to Mytilineos to increase the domestic production of electricity and thermal energy.

The strategic project status is a model for accelerating investments

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski announced a week ago that the government would decide whether to declare Mytilineos’ proposal a strategic investment. He said several laws on strategic investments, including for projects being prepared by wpd and Akuo Energy, would be submitted to parliament. The Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia must adopt a separate law for each project.

North Macedonia intends to convert thermal power plants TEC Negotino and REK Bitola to natural gas, and negotiations have begun with General Electric Investment on the construction of a gas power plant in Bitola.

The country currently gets gas from Bulgaria and Turkey. It is planning to build a pipeline to connect with Greece, financed from a loan.  North Macedonia has signed memoranda with Greece on cooperation in the gas sector.