Municipalities in North Macedonia now directly receiving small power plant projects

Under a new methodology in North Macedonia, investors in power plants and battery energy storage systems of up to 1 MW per unit need to submit their project initiatives to the municipalities where they would be located.

The Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia issued a rulebook on the format, content and methodology for the development of municipal energy plans. It said the document brings for the first time a clear, structured and controlled system for planning energy investments at the local and national levels.

Coming into force, the rulebook has put an end to the ad-hoc approach and introduced order, predictability and balance in the development of energy capacities in the country, according to the update.

Namely, investors planning a project of up to 1 MW are submitting the initiative directly to the municipality where the site is, no later than April 1 every year. The local authorities produce their municipal energy plans and investment proposals, depending on their needs and spatial planning potential. They send them to the ministry no later than May 15.

Taking into account the overall picture and the need for balanced development, it prepares the annual investment plan. Municipalities publish their energy plans on their websites on July 1 at the latest.

“With this new methodology, municipalities become a key filter and partner in the planning process, which enables aligning investments with the real needs of citizens, infrastructure capacities and local development. At the same time, the ministry provides strategic coordination and attends to a balanced distribution of capacities at the national level, preventing excessive concentration of projects in certain regions and enabling sustainable and equitable energy development,” the statement reads.

North Macedonia’s latest annual plan for power plants and energy storage includes seven municipal plans. They consist of 56 photovoltaic projects, for 51.9 MW overall, and 61 for energy storage units. They would total 27.7 MW in operating power and 117.6 MWh in nominal capacity,