Balkans’ first agrisolar project gets off the ground in Serbia

Fintel Energija and MK Group have signed a memorandum of understanding with PowerChina, marking the launch of the Agrosolar project in the Serbian municipality of Kula, the first of its kind in the Balkan region.

The Agrosolar project will involve crop production and electricity generation with solar panels in the same place. The total capacity of the solar panels is expected to be 660 MW, making it the largest solar power plant in Europe, as the biggest one currently is the 500 MW Nunez Balboa in Spain. However, a project with a capacity of 1,000 MW has been announced in France, along with a 950 MW solar power plant that is to be built in Croatia.

The investment is estimated at EUR 340 million

MK Group said the project, which enables sustainable agricultural production under solar panels, is the first of its kind in the Balkans and the largest in Europe. The investment has been estimated at EUR 340 million.

Tiziano Giovannetti, CEO of Fintel Energija, said the construction of a 50-kilowatt pilot solar park, which will begin in the next three months, is a particularly important step. The Agrosolar project, according to him, will span 770 hectares in the municipality of Kula. The solar power plant will have a capacity of 660 MW, and the planned annual production of green energy is about 832 GWh, enough to meet the needs of about 200,000 households.

A 50 kW pilot facility will be installed in the coming months

In this way, the company continues to contribute to achieving Serbia’s goal to increase the share of energy from renewable sources to at least 40% by 2040, according to Giovannetti.

According to Andrija Vuković, CFO of MK Group, the Agrosolar project brings great innovation through the synergy of green energy and sustainable agriculture.

The investors also plan to produce green hydrogen

The project will introduce further innovation to the Serbian energy sector, as a plant for the production of green hydrogen powered by a solar power plant will be built in the second phase, he said. In addition to green hydrogen, this technology will enable the production of 300 tons of urea mineral fertilizer per day, obtained in a completely sustainable way, according to Vuković.

Yang Bo, PowerChina’s representative in Serbia, said that the signing of the document formalizes the Chinese company’s cooperation and partnership with Fintel Energija and MK Group, pioneers and leaders in Southeast Europe in this field.