Renewables

Project underway for 81 MW solar park on coal mine in Montenegro

Project 81 MW solar park on coal mine in Montenegro

Photo: Wirestock on Freepik

Published

July 24, 2025

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

July 24, 2025

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

The Government of Montenegro adopted urban planning and technical conditions for a solar power plant of 81.1 MW in peak capacity in Pljevlja. The site for the facility is part of a coal mining complex.

Greece is the most successful by far in the Balkans in transforming coal land into clean energy and advanced technology hubs. The projects in the region are mostly for solar power plants. Neighboring North Macedonia is next when it comes to implementation, while Romania and Bulgaria as well as Serbia and Slovenia have made their first steps. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo* are still in the planning phase, and now Montenegro is joining them with a photovoltaic project.

The government in Podgorica adopted the urban planning and technical conditions for a solar power plant of 81.1 MW in peak capacity in Pljevlja. The facility in the country’s north called Rudnik uglja would be in the Ilino Brdo I cadastral unit, on the site of the Potrlica open cast coal mine.

According to a study submitted with the application, the connection capacity would be 62.5 MW. The coal mine’s operator and PV project developer, Rudnik uglja Pljevlja, said the location spans 62.6 hectares.

The government plans to close the Pljevlja coal plant in 2041

The firm is a subsidiary of state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), which runs the Pljevlja power plant in the same complex. It is the only coal-fired facility in Montenegro. The government plans to close the thermal power plant, currently under reconstruction, in 2041.

Rudnik uglja Pljevlja presented a just transition plan in March. It aims to establish 12 businesses to transform the region and spin them off. They include construction, transportation and the installation of a small hydropower plant called Durutovići and a photovoltaic facility.

The previous government initiated the development of a plan two years ago for an industrial complex in Pljevlja. There are several separate renewable energy projects in the area as well.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

serbia india ChemVolt Global ElevenEs

Indian ChemVolt Global, Serbian ElevenEs forge strategic partnership for batteries

08 October 2025 - India-based ChemVolt Global and ElevenEs, headquartered in Serbia, established a strategic partnership

turkey teias world bank loan Humberto Lopez Orhan Kaldirim Alparslan Bayraktar

Turkey’s TEİAŞ signs USD 750 million loan contract with World Bank

08 October 2025 - A USD 750 million loan will be used for the Transforming Power Transmission System Project, Turkey’s transmission system operator TEİAŞ said

Montenegrin TSO CGES buying power transmission lines Serbian counterpart EMS

Montenegrin TSO CGES buying power transmission lines from its Serbian counterpart EMS

08 October 2025 - Serbian TSO EMS agreed with CGES agreed that each would become the owner of the parts of overhead transmission lines on its country's territory

Romania Hidroelectrica hydropower battery storage

Romania’s Hidroelectrica to equip hydropower plants with battery storage

08 October 2025 - Romanian state-owned power utility Hidroelectrica plans to integrate battery storage with all its run-of-river hydropower plants