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Serbia’s draft Economic Reforms Program (ERP) for the period 2022-2024 envisages the implementation of state projects for the construction of wind farms with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts (MW) and solar power plants with a capacity of 8,300 MW.
Serbia drafts the Economic Reforms Program every year as a candidate country for EU membership to prepare for the economic and fiscal supervision within the Union. The Ministry of Finance prepares the draft.
Within the investment plan worth EUR 17 billion, EUR 12 billion is planned for wind farms, solar power plants, and hydropower plants.
According to the draft, if all projects from the investment plan are implemented, CO2 emissions would be reduced by about 23 million tons.
Potential locations for wind farms are Zabela and Kovin-Dubovac
In addition to the 66 MW Kostolac wind farm, which is already under construction by state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), Zabela and Kovin-Dubovac are also possible locations for state wind projects. According to the document, there is a possibility for a public-private partnership with Fintel Energija to construct the Maestrale Ring wind farm.
State wind farms could reach a combined installed capacity of 3,000 MW, and the total investment is estimated at EUR 3 billion, the draft reads.
The government’s projects for solar power plants would be implemented on 200,000 hectares of state land with low economic value. The draft underlines that it is possible to install about 2,000 MW of solar power plants.
Within the plan, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Ministry of Mining and Energy and UGT Renewables LLC. The government and UGT are negotiating the construction of solar power plants with a total capacity of about 1,000 MW, which should span over 2,000 hectares in a dozen locations across Serbia.
According to the draft, the power plants could produce 1 GWh and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.9 million tons per year.
Solar power plants could be built with the company UGT, as well as on EPS landfills and roofs of households
On the land that belongs to EPS, primarily on ash dumps, it is possible to build about 300 MW of solar power plants, estimated at EUR 200 million.
Of note, EPS recently announced a tender for the projects.
The draft points to the ongoing major campaign to promote prosumers and adds 600 square kilometers of roofs were identified as available for the installation of solar panels.
Installing solar panels on 10 percent of the said area would provide an installed capacity of 6,000 MW, which is 70 percent of the current installed capacity for electricity production in Serbia, and an annual output of 7 TWh, which is about 20 percent of the total production in Serbia, according to the draft.
In total, the government’s projects for solar power plants could bring online 8,300 MW of installed capacity and EUR 6.2 billion in investment.
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