Photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources
The share of solar power plants’ capacity in North Macedonia has surpassed hydropower plants in 2024, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Božinovska said at the 14th International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development in Skopje.
The three-day International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development (IFESD-14) started yesterday. Its theme is From Goals to Action: Powering the Future with Sustainable Energy. The event was organized by the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN’s five regional commissions – UNECE, UNESCAP, UNECLAC, UNECA, and UNESCWA.
According to Sanja Božinovska, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, North Macedonia has taken decisive steps in recent years to transform its energy system and align it with the principles of sustainability, security, and affordability.
The reforms are already delivering measurable results, with renewables now accounting for more than half of the country’s total installed electricity capacity – 56% in 2024, she noted.
North Macedonia is moving from goals to action
“The structure of that progress is even more striking. Photovoltaic power plants now represent 28% of installed capacity, surpassing large hydropower, which is at 24%. For the first time in our history, solar has overtaken hydro – a symbolic and practical milestone in our path toward decarbonization,” the minister stated.
In 2024 alone, solar output grew by 186%, she underlined at the first high-level plenary session.
The numbers speak louder than words: they highlight a nation that is not just planning a transition, but living it, in Božinovska’s view.
Of note, at the end of 2024 the capacity of solar power plants was 848 MW. The year-on-year was higher than 340 MW. Hydropower capacity was 720 MW, at the end of last year.
Božinovska: We are supporting over 5,000 workers and communities affected by the coal phaseout
“The numbers confirm it — North Macedonia is moving from goals to action,” Božinovska stressed.
She added that the country is investing in new solar and wind projects, expanding energy storage, and modernizing the national grid to absorb growing renewable capacity. “These investments are essential for maintaining reliability and flexibility as we integrate more clean energy sources,” she explained.
Božinovska pointed out that the commitment to a just energy transition is equally important.
“We are supporting over 5,000 workers and communities affected by the coal phaseout, helping them to retrain, diversify local economies, and secure green jobs,” she underlined.
Joksimović: Serbia to reach 2030 renewables target
According to Jovana Joksimović, Serbian Assistant Minister of Mining and Energy for International Cooperation and European Integration, coal is still the backbone of the energy system in Serbia, while the share of energy from renewables is significant and growing, and it reached 38% in 2023.
The government plans that one in two megawatt-hours would be produced from renewables by 2030, she underlined.
“Existing valuable resources will need to remain the foundation of Serbia’s electricity sector until renewable energy, transmission and distribution infrastructure, as well as storage capacities and ability to integrate renewables, are sufficiently developed and aligned to reliably and securely replace coal-based electricity generation,” the assistant minister told the audience during the second high-level plenary session.
It is necessary to diversify supply channels but also the energy mix
Joksimović stressed that the increased capacity for clean energy, secured from the two very successful rounds of the auctions, would contribute to reaching 2030 targets.
When it comes to advancing the energy transition and powering the future, it is necessary to think outside the box, she added. Supply channels should be diversified but so does the energy mix, to be as self-sustainable as possible, in Joksimović’s view.
There is huge support for it from relevant international financial institutions – IFIs, but more is needed, in her words.
“If we are going to reach the targets that we set for us, I believe that the European Commission would be partnering with us in all efforts that we are taking,” she concluded.
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