Electricity

Andonov: Čebren hydropower plant to accelerate renewables development in North Macedonia

viktor andonov cebren hydropower ppc

Photo: BGEN

Published

October 2, 2023

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

October 2, 2023

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Once constructed, the Čebren pumped storage hydropower plant will significantly accelerate the deployment of renewables in North Macedonia and the region by helping balance intermittent green energy, said Viktor Andonov, Energy Advisor to the Prime Minister of North Macedonia.

The Čebren project, planned decades ago in the ex-Yugoslav republic, will be finally built by the Greek consortium PPC-Archirodon Group, the winner of the Government’s tender for concession.

Two weeks ago, the consortium of Greece’s Public Power Corporation (PPC) and Archirodon Group won the concession to build the Čebren pumped storage hydropower plant in North Macedonia.

During an appearance at the Win-Win show on Telma television, Viktor Andonov noted that the construction of the facility, with a capacity of 333 MW, has been planned for six decades, Libertas reported.

The idea, he pointed out, is to use the water of the Crna River, the largest tributary of the Vardar River, which is the longest in the country.

Under a transparent procedure, the government chose a private investor that accepted the obligation to finance and build Čebren on its own

The selected technical solution, primarily the height of the dam, was determined based on thousands of pages of detailed technical and geological research carried out by renowned domestic and foreign consultants back in the days of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Andonov pointed out.

For example, the height of the Čebren dam was defined by the Water Economy Basis of Macedonia, which was adopted by parliament in 1978.

According to Andonov, the government selected a private investor under a transparent procedure. Its obligation is to finance and build Čebren on its own and operate it jointly with state-owned power utility Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM), he added that ESM would own 33% of the faiclity.

Government-controlled ESM will have a 33% stake in the company that will operate Čebren

Commenting on the project value, Andonov said the estimated investment value is EUR 1 billion. The prices that were the topic of speculations represent old calculations. Due to

Regarding the project valuation of EUR 1 billion, Andonov claimed that speculations that are emerging on the cost are based on old prices. With inflation over the past two decades, and especially in 2022, prices of construction materials have been in constant increase, he said.

Andonov stressed that according to calculations based on data published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for 2022, the cost of new hydropower project was USD 2,881/kW.

Translated to the capacity of Čebren and the Orlov Kamen HPP, the investment is estimated at EUR 1 billion, Andonov said.

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

Electrify Europe – to be competitive and sustainable, the EU needs to speed up electrification

Electrify Europe – to be competitive and sustainable, the EU needs to speed up electrification

27 May 2025 - As Europe grapples with sluggish economic growth and soaring energy costs, electrification has emerged as the linchpin for reversing industrial decline, accelerating decarbonisation, and restoring global competitiveness

memo first guarantees of origin esm

North Macedonia issues first guarantees of origin for renewables

27 May 2025 - The first guarantees of origin were awarded to state power utility ESM, for electricity produced from hydropower.

Largest battery storage system in Balkans commissioned in Bulgaria Lovech

Largest battery storage system in Balkans commissioned in Bulgaria

26 May 2025 - A BESS facility of 124.1 MW was inaugurated in Lovech in Bulgaria, next to a photovoltaic park in the local industrial zone

mickoski cebren hydropower plants

North Macedonia in talks on project to build two hydropower plants

26 May 2025 - The construction of hydropower plants Čebren and Galište is expected to cost between EUR 1.2 billion and EUR 1.3 billion