Blog – Full Width

  1. Home
  2. Blog – Full Width
April 3, 2025
by

Renewables equipment factory to contribute to just transition of coal region in Romania

Monsson Group is preparing to build a manufacturing facility in Petrila for renewable energy equipment, including robots that clean solar panels. The project received funding to contribute to the just transition of Romania’s coal region Jiu valley – Hunedoara.

An investment of nearly EUR 10 million in the first phase is underway in Transylvania, in the town of Petrila, economically devastated after the closure of a coal mine. The project is aimed at reviving the area with a factory for renewable energy equipment such as enclosures for battery energy storage systems, wiring and robots that clean photovoltaic panels.

Monsson Group revealed its facility would also manufacture gear for monitoring environmental parameters and tracking fauna in the area. The Sweden-based company has said 70% of the investment would be covered from Romania’s Just Transition Program which is in turn part of the European Union’s Just Transition Facility.

Romania is planning to prolong the operation of its coal power plants and mines for a smoother switch to renewable sources, in terms of electricity supply. However, such facilities are becoming less financially viable by the day all across the EU. Coal regions are facing economic blows from early shutdowns of power plants and mines.

First major private investment in Petrila

According to Monsson, the new factory would employ more than fifty people in the first phase. It expects to begin construction mid-year.

It is the first major private investment in Petrila, Mayor Vasile Jurca said. He said the project enables reskilling and sustainable development. The local authority provided the land for the factory. Romania has earmarked substantial funding for the construction of renewable energy equipment plants.

The second part of the plan is to install a 20 MWh battery energy storage system to provide system services to the national grid, followed by a 50 MWh unit.

Reskilling program underway

The group, which includes Wind Power Energy and its RenewAcad network of renewable energy training centers, established cooperation with the University of Petroșani in getting skilled workers. Monsson is one of the biggest renewable energy investors in the country.

Petrila is part of the Jiu Valley in Hunedoara county, Romania’s main coal region. It is located near Oltenia, the other coal complex, in the counties of Gorj and Dolj.

Notably, the Maritsa East 3 coal power plant in neighboring Bulgaria ceased operations yesterday again after it was briefly brought back online to maintain energy security.

Post Views:48
April 3, 2025
by

Montenegro’s TSO CGES achieves EUR 25 million profit in 2024

Montenegro’s transmission system operator CGES recorded a profit of EUR 24.8 million last year.

The net income of TSO CGES compares to EUR 35.7 million from 2023. In 2022, the company’s profit amounted to EUR 20.3 million, after EUR 16.9 million in the previous year.

President of the Board of Directors of CGES Aleksandar Mijušković noted in a statement to Mina news agency that the total since his appointment is almost EUR 100 million.

He recalled that the company’s operations are regulated by the Energy and Water Regulatory Agency of Montenegro (REGAGEN), pointing out that the profit is subject to revision, in line with the regulatory mechanism.

Implementation of visionary projects led to income growth

Implementation of crucial infrastructure projects, investments in new technologies, and improvement of work processes were the decisive factors for the success, Mijušković underlined.

In his words, conducting important, visionary projects has led to a significant increase in income from electricity transit. In addition, by applying new technologies and improving work processes, the company achieved a more efficient and reliable system with the lowest grid loss rate so far, despite a much higher transit and flow of energy through the system, Mijušković pointed out.

He added that good business results secure multiple benefits for shareholders and users of the transmission system in Montenegro. CGES’s results have contributed to lowering the transmission tariff paid by citizens and businesses, Mijušković said.

The company plans to continue the investments within its five-year plan, worth EUR 207 million. It envisages significant infrastructure projects.

The Trans-Balkan Corridor will facilitate market coupling with Europe

He singled out the Trans-Balkan Corridor among the largest infrastructure projects. Its completion will significantly increase the capacity for power transit from the Balkans to Italy.

It will enable coupling the Montenegrin electricity market with the Italian one and, with it, the single European electricity market, Mijušković said.

The green transition brought great challenges for the European power system, he stressed. The production of electricity from renewable sources cannot be controlled, so large, uncontrolled electricity flows began appearing in the system, threatening its stability, Mijušković said.

The issues can be effectively solved only by strengthening the internal grid and interconnections with neighbors, which CGES has envisaged in its plans, he asserted.

Post Views:22
April 3, 2025
by

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.

Post Views:48
April 2, 2025
by

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.

Post Views:119
April 2, 2025
by

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.

Post Views:165
April 2, 2025
by

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.

Post Views:51