EUR 2 million in grants to be disbursed for PV systems in 35 municipalities

Public buildings such as kindergartens, schools, municipal buildings, and other facilities in 35 municipalities will get EUR 2 million in grants for the procurement of photovoltaic (PV) systems, the Macedonian Ministry of Finance said.

The grant funds to enable municipalities to procure PV systems to generate electricity for public buildings’ consumption will be allocated under the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and through the Municipal Services Improvement Project implemented by the Ministry of Finance, according to a statement from the ministry.

The grant is intended for 35 municipalities in four regions with the lowest GDP per capita. The municipalities will need to identify the facilities for the installation of PV systems, which will ensure significant savings on electricity bills, the ministry said, adding that the project will also help diversify the country’s energy mix, in line with the government’s strategic efforts to encourage the use of renewable energy sources and environmental protection.

Prosumers planned under new energy law

Macedonia has recently taken legislative steps toward introducing a market-based support scheme for renewable energy, as well as prosumers that would produce electricity for self-consumption and feed surpluses to the grid.

In a recent interview with news agency MIA, state power utility ELEM General Manager Dragan Minovski said that electricity production does not have to be “a one-way street,” noting that this is usually achieved through the installation of rooftop solar panels.

Macedonia, which has been granting subsidies to households to install solar thermal panels, targets a 23.9% share of renewable energy in final energy consumption in 2020, up from 19.9% in 2015.

Macedonia already has a solar panel plant

PiKCELL Group, in partnership with Solar Power, unveiled a plant to produce solar photovoltaic (PV) and thermal panels in Skopje earlier this year. This is the first such plant in Macedonia and the region, according to the reports.

The investment is expected to reach EUR 5 million by the end of the year. The plant, spanning 1,500 square meters, currently employs 20 people. According to Goran Paunov, top man at PiKCELL Group, the plant can produce PV panels with a total capacity of 20 MW annually.