Đokić: Republic of Srpska will connect 250 MW of solar in next three years

Over the next three years, the Republic of Srpska will connect 250 MW of new solar power plants to the grid, Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Đokić announced at Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 (BEF 2025), a two-day conference that kicked off today.

The Republic of Srpska, according to Đokić, has agreed concessions and partnerships for the construction of 2,200 MW of renewable energy power plants – wind, solar, and hydropower. Of the total capacity, state power utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS) has been awarded concessions for projects totaling 755 MW.

“The total value of the investments is about BAM 5.5 billion (EUR 2.81 billion), positioning the Republic of Srpska as a significant investor in the wider region,” he stressed.

Investments are needed in the transmission network

According to him, this is a great achievement considering the size and population of the Republic of Srpska, one of the two political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). However, these projects, which are planned to be realized in the next five years, will have to include investments in transmission capacities in order to upgrade the network.

With certain investments, according to him, the Republic of Srpska’s transmission network currently has the capacity to offtake all the electricity that will be produced in both the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other political entity of BiH.

Đokić expects support from European financial institutions

He noted that this requires significant financial resources, adding that he expects cooperation with the European Union’s (EU) financial institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as the World Bank.

Regarding the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), he said that measures have been taken to change the energy mix. Until recently, the share of fossil fuels was 62%, but it has now dropped to 54%, he noted.

By 2028, the Republic of Srpska will have two new hydropower plants, of 159 MW and 36 MW respectively, built by ERS, as well as one that is being finalized by a private investor, according to Đokić. “In the next three years, we will complete solar power plants with a total capacity of 250 MW, possibly more,” he said.