Photo: Fortis Energy
Fortis signed a mandate letter with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the potential financing of a 270 MW solar power project, which would be combined with a 72 MWh battery energy storage system. The site is on the territory of the city of Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia.
EBRD is beginning due diligence and structured negotiations with Fortis Energy on the possible long-term financing of a project for what would currently be the largest photovoltaic facility in Serbia and the Western Balkans. The Sremska Mitrovica solar power plant, of 270 MW in planned peak capacity, would include a 72 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
The company said Amsterdam-based Fortis Renewable Energy BV has signed a mandate letter with the EBRD. It means that they set preliminary terms, facilitating the formal start of talks.
The site is on the territory of the city of Sremska Mitrovica, west of Serbia’s capital Belgrade. It is on private land just south of the river Sava, toward Drenovac village in the Mačva area.
Fortis demonstrates bankability
President of Fortis Energy Mehmet Burak Üçkardeş (pictured left), Managing Director of the EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group Harry Boyd-Carpenter (center) and Executive Vice President of Fortis Energy Nikola Oklobdžija signed the agreement.
“The project will add substantial renewable capacity to the national grid, strengthening long-term energy security while contributing to regional decarbonization goals as a critical infrastructure asset within Europe’s green transition. This project serves not only as an important milestone for the region but also as a demonstration of bankability, proving that large-scale solar in Southeast Europe aligns with international environmental and social sustainability standards,” Fortis Energy stressed.
The company estimated annual output at more than 365 GWh
The Sremska Mitrovica facility will generate over 365 GWh of clean electricity annually, equivalent to powering more than 105,000 households, while avoiding approximately 182,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the company estimated.
Construction is planned to commence in the third quarter of this year, with the commissioning of the hybrid power plant targeted for the first quarter of 2028.
Fortis Energy, headquartered in the Netherlands, has regional offices in Istanbul and Belgrade. The company is pursuing a long-term ambition to become a global green baseload independent power producer (IPP), integrating solar, wind, energy storage, and sustainable infrastructure across Europe.
It operates more than 200 MW of renewable energy assets and has over 500 MW more planned for 2026 and 2027.
Kontrolmatik is EPC contractor for Noćaj 1
In early January, Kontrolmatik Technologies said it has signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with Fortis Renewable Energy for the first half of the Sremska Mitrovica project. The deal is significant for its subsidiary Pomega Energy Storage Technologies (PESS), according to the announcement.
The Noćaj 1 phase is for 135 MW in peak solar power capacity, a 90 MW grid connection, and 36 MWh in battery storage.
The same firm has won the EPC deal for batteries for Fortis Energy’s Oslomej PV plant, the largest in North Macedonia. Kontrolmatik makes LFP (lithium-ferro-phosphate) battery cells and modules in Polatlı in the Ankara province in Turkey.
Of note, Fortis Energy does EPC projects as well.
Similar project under development for location in nearby Erdevik
Fortis Energy is preparing an investment in another hybrid power plant at a location in Erdevik, near Sremska Mitrovica. The facility would consist of 100 MW in peak capacity – with a 74 MW grid connection – and 30 MWh in battery storage.
The company launched the construction late last year of its solar power plant of 75 MW in peak capacity in Erseka, Albania. It will feature a grid connection of 62 MW and a BESS of 25 MWh, it said at the time.
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