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April 3, 2025
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Greek companies expand to Bulgaria with solar power investments

Greece’s government-controlled power utility PPC and Masdar’s subsidiary Terna Energy are separately building two photovoltaic plants in Bulgaria, worth an estimated EUR 190 million in total.

The biggest two renewable energy companies in Greece have taken over one major project each in neighboring Bulgaria, where domestic investors dominated the photovoltaics market until recently. Soon after government-controlled Public Power Corp. (PPC) said it began building a 165 MW solar power plant with batteries, Capital reported that Terna Energy plans to complete a 130 MW project by the end of next year.

The segment appears saturated, given the lack of energy storage capacities in Bulgaria to balance high PV output at times of abundant sunshine. Permits that the Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) issued show 4 GW in overall installed solar power capacity. Nevertheless, Executive Director of Electricity System Operator (ESO) Angelin Tsachev estimated there is as much as 5 GW, the media outlet noted.

In its annual statistics update, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said Bulgaria hosted 3.9 GW of PV capacity at the end of 2024.

Terna Energy bought out initial developer one year ago

Terna Energy became a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (Masdar) last year. The Greek company entered the ownership of the project firm Bio PD Solar Energy for the 130 MW facility three years ago with a 25% stake.

In mid-2024, Terna Energy Overseas Ltd., registered in Cyprus, became the sole owner. It invested some EUR 25 million and bought out Helios Construction Project. According to the article, the previous parent company is associated with businessman Ahmed Dogan. He was the founder and long-time leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party, representing Muslim minorities.

Both projects are on municipal land

The project spanning more than 200 hectares was initially planned at 180 MW. The lot is on municipal land in Kameno in eastern Bulgaria.

According to the news website, the investment amounts to EUR 92 million. The location near the village of Vratitsa isn’t subject to an environmental impact assessment study except for the intended construction of a 33/110 kV substation.

Terna Energy said its former affiliate Terna, part of the GEK Terna conglomerate, is building the solar power plant in Burgas province.

New hybrid power plant in Bulgaria is part of PPC’s regional expansion

PPC is building its PV plant in the Chirpan municipality in Stara Zagora province. Having included a battery energy storage system in the project, and given the power links with its assets in Romania and Greece, the company is counting on a strategic advantage in the market with the new hybrid facility. PPC is pursuing major expansion in the region, including Italy.

The investment is valued at EUR 97 million, of which the energy storage segment accounts for EUR 10.2 million to EUR 12.8 million, the article adds.

The Colosseum site consists of 11 municipal properties formerly designated as agricultural land, on 200 hectares altogether. PPC bought the project from Enery. The company is headquartered in Austria and active in the renewables sector in Romania as well.

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April 2, 2025
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Germany looks into underground heat storage to decarbonize heating

Germany is increasingly looking into geothermal energy storage as a way of decarbonizing its heating sector. The technology allows storing heated water in underground caverns and using it for warming homes and public and private buildings during winter, according to a report by Clean Energy Wire.

This thermal energy storage system, called Geotes, promises “the almost universal availability of cheap and practically inexhaustible storage capacities,” according to Peter Ruschhaupt from the think tank Future Cleantech Architects (FCA), German business daily Handelsblatt reported.

The process involves heating water and injecting it into underground caverns, where heat can be retained for months by the surrounding rock. The warm water can then be pumped back to the surface and used for district heating.

Heat can be retained underground for months

The cost of drilling is the main challenge in ensuring that the process is economically viable, but once the caverns are ready, the technology can be very cost effective, as heat can be stored for an entire season, according to Ruschhaupt.

Such systems already exist in northern Europe

One such research project is currently underway in former coal mines in Germany’s Ruhr valley, the daily wrote. In the Netherlands and Scandinavia, “there are already thousands of Geotes systems,” said Ruschhaupt.

According to the German geothermal association, geothermal energy could cover 40% of the country’s heating needs, Clean Energy Wire wrote, noting that Germany is seeking to phase out fossil-run heating boilers and requiring cities to prepare municipal heat plans by mid-2028 at the latest.

In Serbia, the district heating company in Novi Sad is developing a thermal energy storage project, as part of an innovative hybrid system that would combine solar collectors, seasonal thermal storage, and heat pumps. The investment is aimed at decarbonizing the Serbian city’s district heating and helping balance the power system.

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April 2, 2025
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Trump administration suspends USD 20 billion in emissions reduction funding

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has frozen USD 20 billion in funding for greenhouse gas reduction projects, citing, among other things, concerns over potential fraud, waste, and abuse, news agencies reported. The move prompted a lawsuit by environmental NGO Climate United Fund, one of the beneficiaries of the program aimed at financing thousands of green energy and climate action projects.

The funding was appropriated by Congress under former President Joe Biden, but the new US administration, led by Donald Trump, decided to freeze it, the reports noted. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly known as the green bank, was launched in 2022.

The green bank was launched under the Biden administration

In a statement, the EPA said that the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were now reviewing the program. Lee Zeldin, the EPA’s new chief, said that “EPA will be an exceptional steward of taxpayer dollars dedicated to our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, not a frivolous spender in the name of ‘climate equity,’” according to news agencies.

The EPA also said it would seek to use the green bank funds “with enhanced controls.”

Over the weekend, Climate United Fund, which had been awarded nearly USD 7 billion under the program to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects, sued the EPA, demanding access to the funds.

Climate Action Fund had been awarded nearly USD 7 billion for thousands of projects

The organization also sued Citibank, though which the money was to be disbursed, for withholding the funds, according to reports.

In April 2024, it was announced that the EPA had selected eight recipients, including Climate United Fund, to be awarded a total of USD 20 billion in grants to finance tens of thousands of projects aimed at combating climate change and promoting environmental justice. The money was formally awarded in August.

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April 2, 2025
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Seven cities, regions in Western Balkans to strengthen climate resilience with CLIMAAX

Seven cities and regions in the Western Balkans will receive financial and technical support to enhance their climate resilience.

Four local authorities in Albania and one each in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia are among the 69 in 23 countries selected within the CLIMAAX call for applications.

As a result of the two open calls, municipalities, cities and regions will receive more than EUR 12 million in total from the European Union’s Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, the announcement reads.

The maximum amount of financial support within CLIMAAX ranges between EUR 115.227 and EUR 300.000.

The selected cities and regions will conduct multi-risk climate risk assessments

Tirana, Vlora, Belsh, and Libohova in Albania became beneficiaries together with the municipalities of Neum in BiH and Bijelo Polje in Montenegro and the Secretariat for Urban Planning and Environmental Protection in Serbia’s Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

As for other countries tracked by Balkan Green Energy News, regions and cities in Bulgaria (7), Croatia (2), Cyprus (1), Greece (8), Romania (3), Slovenia (1), and Turkey (7) have also been selected, according to the List of selected beneficiaries 1 and List of selected beneficiaries 2.

The CLIMAAX program highlights the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and other climate-related hazards as significant risks to economies, societies, and ecosystems across the globe. Therefore it is critical to understand the risks and develop effective strategies to manage and adapt to them.

Sempere-Torres: We are building a collaborative network of communities committed to climate resilience across Europe

The main objective is to support the implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy and especially the first objective of the Horizon Europe Mission Adaptation: preparing and planning for climate resilience.

Selected cities and regions will implement the proposed methodological framework and toolbox to conduct multi-risk climate risk assessments. The regions are eligible for support from the CLIMAAX consortium in their work on the assessments.

“With CLIMAAX expanding to more regions, we are enhancing our efforts to make climate risk assessment into a practical process that leads to real, impactful action. By empowering regions with the necessary tools and financial support, we are not just improving local adaptation strategies—we are building a collaborative network of communities committed to climate resilience across Europe,” said Daniel Sempere-Torres, project co-coordinator of CLIMAAX and director of the Center of Applied Research in Hydrometeorology of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

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April 2, 2025
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EU mission in Serbia handed 100,000 signatures against declaring Rio Tinto’s Jadar a strategic project

Informal environmentalist organization Eko Straža has submitted a letter to the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia urging the EU not to grant strategic status to Rio Tinto’s Jadar project in the country. The letter opposing the lithium mining and processing project is backed by the signatures of 100,000 citizens.

Bojan Simišić of Eko Straža said the signatures had been submitted because of the European Commission’s upcoming decision on strategic projects to produce critical raw materials in third countries. The decision is expected to be adopted this week, Fonet reported.

The letter, supported by 100,000 signatures, is the first concrete step by environmental associations and citizens after the announcement that the EU could grant Jadar the status of a strategic project. The site of Rio Tinto’s underground mine and processing unit is near the Western Serbian city of Loznica.

The EU has adopted the first list of strategic projects

On Tuesday, the European Commission approved the first 47 strategic projects, within EU territory, for the production of critically important raw materials. According to the announcement, the decision on the potential selection of proposals for facilities in third countries will be adopted at a later stage.

Under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), such strategic projects are eligible for administrative and financial support.

Shortly after the decision was announced, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that within seven or eight days, the EU would also declare the Jadar lithium project as strategic. He made the claim the same evening in Brussels, where he met with the bloc’s top officials.

Eko Straža: If the EU designates Jadar as strategic, protests will follow

Eko straža stressed that the EU does not have jurisdiction to designate Jadar as a strategic project. The organization also pointed out that Jadar was canceled by the Serbian government’s decision in 2022.

“If the EU puts the Jadar project on its list of strategic projects, we will press ahead with protests. However, we will no longer address the Serbian government, which has resigned, but will instead turn to international institutions,” said Eko Straža.

Balkan Green Energy News has compiled a chronological overview of the most important events concerning Jadar since 2001, when Rio Tinto established a subsidiary in Serbia.

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April 2, 2025
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City of Tuzla seeks to block lithium mining on Mount Majevica

Two weeks after the local authorities and residents of the municipality of Lopare voiced their opposition to plans to open a lithium mine on Mount Majevica, the City of Tuzla sent a similar message. A few days ago, the Tuzla city council adopted a document requesting a ban on the mining of lithium and similar metals within a 40-kilometer radius over concerns for the environment and public health.

In the document, adopted on March 27, the local authorities express concern about the ongoing procedure to grant a concession for a lithium mine at Majevica to Arcore AG, as well as about the agreement between the Republic of Srpska and Hungary on rare earth mining, signed on March 3, 2025.

State authorities urged to initiate an environmental impact assessment

The city council demands an urgent review of the potential environmental impact of these projects on Tuzla and the wider area and calls on the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to promptly initiate a procedure to assess their environmental impact, including the potential pollution of groundwater and rivers.

The City of Tuzla demands that the competent institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina immediately launch an international environmental protection mechanism, including the implementation of the Aarhus Convention, to ensure public participation and prevent any harmful impacts of lithium mining. It also calls on the National Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Srpska to suspend the concession award process until an independent environmental study is conducted.

Neighboring municipalities invited to act together against lithium mining

In the document, Tuzla invites neighboring municipalities to join forces and create a joint plan to prevent lithium mining in the area of ​​Mount Majevica, while also recalling that in September 2024, Tuzla adopted a declaration strongly opposing the lithium mining plans.

The protest in Lopare in mid-March was attended by residents and activists from the neighboring towns and municipalities, including Bijeljina, Banjaluka, Šipovo, Brčko, Fojnica, Maglaj, and Tuzla.

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