Jovan Kasalica (first from the right - photo: EPCG)
Electricity consumption in Montenegro has risen by 25% over the past four years, driven, among other factors, by solar power expansion. The installed capacity of photovoltaic plants amounts to around 80 MW, and it is expected to exceed 100 MW by the end of the year.
Jovan Kasalica, executive manager of the supply department in power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), attributed the surge in electricity consumption both to a low price of electricity and the growing contribution of solar power plants.
“The majority of this increase is linked to the heating sector, especially in central and northern Montenegro. We are making a significant contribution to decarbonization in the region, which we will document with precise data,” Kasalica noted at the international conference Energy 2025, held in the Zlatibor mountain in Serbia.
Rooftop solar is capacity is increasing
He said the development of the solar power segment was successful. Currently, nearly 80 MW of solar capacity is operational in Montenegro.
The Solari 3000+ and 500+ project brought online 30 MW of solar panels, and the second project, Solari 5000+, which aims for another 70 MW, is currently in advanced stages.
The initiatives focus on installing photovoltaics on the roofs of households and businesses, enabling citizens and entrepreneurs to produce electricity for self-consumption and become prosumers.
The Gvozd wind farm is set to be connected to the grid by the of the year
By the end of the year, it is anticipated that the total capacity of PV facilities in Montenegro will surpass the planned 100 MW, according to Kasalica.
He further noted that the company didn’t have any additional costs for the Solari 3000+ project, because the loans for the installation were switched to the funding facilities and consumers. The project has resulted in lower bills and greater energy efficiency, Kasalica said.
Additionally, he announced plans to connect the 54 MW Gvozd wind farm to the grid by the end of the year.
In addition to increasing the number of prosumers in Montenegro, EPCG plans to install ground-mounted solar power plants and to put online a total capacity of 200 MW within the next three years.
The company has also recently kicked off the main phase of the so-called ecological reconstruction of the Pljevlja thermal power plant. The only coal-fired facility in Montenegro won’t produce electricity until November.
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