Montenegro to announce auctions for renewables by 2025

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects Montenegro to hold the first renewable energy auction by 2025.

The prerequisite to conduct auctions is to introduce a renewable energy law.

The Ministry of Mining and Energy told Vijesti that the consulting team hired by the EBRD is assisting in the preparation of the Law on the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources. The goal is to bring the regulatory framework into line with the European Union’s new Renewable Energy Directive.

Remon Zakaria, head of the EBRD in Montenegro, said the international lender’s consultants would support the Government of Montenegro in the preparation of a new law to establish a regulatory framework for auctions.

The draft law should be completed by the new government, Zakaria pointed out.

Zakaria: We hope to see the first renewable energy auction in Montenegro by 2025

The law will set the basis to start activities for the introduction of auctions, the ministry adds.

The first draft is ready and the members of the working group are giving suggestions and comments, it revealed. The ministry expects that the final version will be determined in 2024 and sent to the government.

Reforms in this segment of the market are developing at different paces in different countries, depending on regulatory characteristics and relevant complexities, according to the EBRD.

The bank said it is pleased that the work has started and that the completion of the first phase of the task is so close, adding it should lay the foundation for the implementation of the competitive bidding process in Montenegro.

“We hope to see the first renewable energy auction in Montenegro by 2025,” Zakaria stressed.

For example, the first auction in neighboring Albania resulted in a solar power price of EUR 24.89 per MWh. In Serbia, the lowest accepted prices were EUR 64.48 per MWh and EUR 88.65 per MWh for wind and solar power, respectively.