Turkish contractor and solar power plant operator Margün Energy, which is expanding to geothermal energy including lithium extraction, acquired nine geothermal licenses that enable access to a potential power production capacity of 505 MW. It counts on USD 405 million per year from electricity sales alone.
Margün Energy, listed at the Istanbul Stock Exchange since 2021, said it would establish a subsidiary called Margün Jeotermal. It would be responsible for nine geothermal licenses in the provinces of Denizli, in southwestern Turkey, and Manisa, in the west.
The company said it is targeting 3.86 TWh in annual electricity output upon completing the investments. In a regulatory filing, Margün Energy revealed that it conducted the transaction through its fully-owned subsidiary Bosphorus Yenilenebilir Enerji, which would own 77.5% of the new business.
Having a potential new power production capacity of 505 MW overall, the company counts on USD 405 million in sales. It translates to an annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of USD 324 million, it added.ž
Turkey is the fourth in the world in geothermal power capacity.
The company mostly operates solar power plants and works as a contractor for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance.
Notably, it owns the largest stake in Enda Energy Holding. The affiliate operates four hydropower plants, five wind power plants, one geothermal power plant and three solar power plants of 200 MW altogether.
Margün Energy intends to search for lithium in geothermal waters in Seferihisar in western Turkey, where it took over a 12 MW geothermal power plant earlier this year. It also launched a project to add a photovoltaic unit of 5.4 MW to the existing facility and create a hybrid power plant.
Turkey is the fourth in the world in geothermal power capacity.
Masdar and Taaleri Energia generated the first megawatt-hours in their Čibuk 2 wind farm in Serbia. The first 35 MW out of the planned 154 MW is now in trial operation.
The installation of all 22 turbines in the Čibuk 2 wind power plant northeast of Belgrade is set to be completed by mid-November, Renewable Energy Sources of Serbia (RES Serbia) revealed. Trial operation of the first part began on October 21 and 35 MW has been connected to the grid so far, according to the update.
The entire wind farm will come online in early December, the association said. The project in the municipality of Kovin in the south Banat area is for 154 MW. The wind farm is between the villages of Bavanište and Mramorak.
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. – Masdar and Finland-based Taaleri Energia’s Taaleri SolarWind III Fund reached the financial close just 13 months ago. At the same time, special purpose vehicle (SPV) Čibuk 2 Wind Energy, a subsidiary of their joint venture Masdar Taaleri Generation, signed a power purchase agreement (PPA), as well as contracts on balancing and a market premium, with state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS).
UniCredit and Erste provided project financing, while Nordex is the equipment supplier.
The Čibuk 2 project secured a market premium at Serbia’s first wind power auction.
The facility is located next to the existing Čibuk 1 wind farm of 158 MW, the largest in Serbia. Masdar and Taaleri Energia commissioned it in 2019.
Romania is experiencing strong growth in photovoltaic capacity, with 1.7 GW installed in 2024 alone. Local authorities are actively contributing to the energy transition. They include Timișoara, which will soon get its own solar power plant, of 5.6 MW.
According to data from the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA), solar power plants with a total capacity of 1.7 GW were installed in Romania last year. The expansion is driven by accessible financing, legal reforms, simplified permitting procedures, and auctions for contracts for difference (CfD).
Local authorities, including counties, are one of the pillars of the country’s energy transition. For example, in the small town of Turceni in southwestern Romania, home to only about 7,000 residents, a EUR 380 million project was recently launched. The municipal authority signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the construction of agrosolar parks, energy storage systems, and facilities for green hydrogen production and storage.
Timișoara is part of a growing group of local authorities developing solar power projects for their own needs
In northern Romania, the municipality of Târgu Lăpuș has established a public-private partnership with a company founded by Turkish and Romanian investors. The goal is to build a 200 MW solar power plant with an energy storage system. The investment is estimated at EUR 100 million.
Timișoara, the capital of Timiș county and the largest city in western Romania, has long been a part of the growing group of municipalities developing solar power projects for their own needs. Mayor Dominic Fritz and Minister of Environment Diana Buzoianu have signed a grant agreement for the construction of the city’s first solar park, of 5.6 MW, marking the start of the investment’s next phase.
The municipality will now launch the tender procedure for design and construction services. The solar power plant is expected to generate an average of 7.8 GWh of green energy annually.
Solar park to deliver direct benefits for the city
The total investment value is RON 32.2 million lei (EUR 6.3 million) including value-added tax. The project is conducted under the European Union’s Modernisation Fund, managed by the Ministry of Energy. The fund supports investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage, grids, and just transition in 13 European Union member states with lower incomes. It uses the proceeds from the sale of greenhouse gas emission allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).
“The solar park will bring direct benefits to the city – lower costs, reduced emissions, and more sustainable infrastructure. It is just one of the projects through which we are transforming Timișoara into a green and smart city, capable of producing a significant share of the energy it consumes from renewable sources,” said Fritz.
The solar power plant will cover two thirds of public lighting needs
PV panels will be installed near the wastewater treatment plant in the Freidorf district, on 20 hectares. The generated electricity will cover around two thirds of the city’s public lighting consumption. The facility would contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions with 4,800 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually.
The solar power plant is part of the local administration’s broader plan to switch to renewable energy sources and reduce pollution. Timișoara has also expressed interest in a state aid mechanism for the production and transport of geothermal energy for district heating and cooling systems, worth EUR 300 million, covered from the Modernisation Fund. Last year, the city signed a strategic partnership with OMV Petrom to utilize geothermal energy for district heating.
The share of solar power plants’ capacity in North Macedonia has surpassed hydropower plants in 2024, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Božinovska said at the 14th International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development in Skopje.
The three-day International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development (IFESD-14) started yesterday. Its theme is From Goals to Action: Powering the Future with Sustainable Energy. The event was organized by the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN’s five regional commissions – UNECE, UNESCAP, UNECLAC, UNECA, and UNESCWA.
According to Sanja Božinovska, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, North Macedonia has taken decisive steps in recent years to transform its energy system and align it with the principles of sustainability, security, and affordability.
The reforms are already delivering measurable results, with renewables now accounting for more than half of the country’s total installed electricity capacity – 56% in 2024, she noted.
North Macedonia is moving from goals to action
“The structure of that progress is even more striking. Photovoltaic power plants now represent 28% of installed capacity, surpassing large hydropower, which is at 24%. For the first time in our history, solar has overtaken hydro – a symbolic and practical milestone in our path toward decarbonization,” the minister stated.
In 2024 alone, solar output grew by 186%, she underlined at the first high-level plenary session.
Photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources
The numbers speak louder than words: they highlight a nation that is not just planning a transition, but living it, in Božinovska’s view.
Of note, at the end of 2024 the capacity of solar power plants was 848 MW. The year-on-year was higher than 340 MW. Hydropower capacity was 720 MW, at the end of last year.
Božinovska: We are supporting over 5,000 workers and communities affected by the coal phaseout
“The numbers confirm it — North Macedonia is moving from goals to action,” Božinovska stressed.
She added that the country is investing in new solar and wind projects, expanding energy storage, and modernizing the national grid to absorb growing renewable capacity. “These investments are essential for maintaining reliability and flexibility as we integrate more clean energy sources,” she explained.
Božinovska pointed out that the commitment to a just energy transition is equally important.
“We are supporting over 5,000 workers and communities affected by the coal phaseout, helping them to retrain, diversify local economies, and secure green jobs,” she underlined.
Joksimović: Serbia to reach 2030 renewables target
Sanja Božinovska and Jovana Joksimović (photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources)
According to Jovana Joksimović, Serbian Assistant Minister of Mining and Energy for International Cooperation and European Integration, coal is still the backbone of the energy system in Serbia, while the share of energy from renewables is significant and growing, and it reached 38% in 2023.
The government plans that one in two megawatt-hours would be produced from renewables by 2030, she underlined.
“Existing valuable resources will need to remain the foundation of Serbia’s electricity sector until renewable energy, transmission and distribution infrastructure, as well as storage capacities and ability to integrate renewables, are sufficiently developed and aligned to reliably and securely replace coal-based electricity generation,” the assistant minister told the audience during the second high-level plenary session.
It is necessary to diversify supply channels but also the energy mix
Joksimović stressed that the increased capacity for clean energy, secured from the two very successful rounds of the auctions, would contribute to reaching 2030 targets.
When it comes to advancing the energy transition and powering the future, it is necessary to think outside the box, she added. Supply channels should be diversified but so does the energy mix, to be as self-sustainable as possible, in Joksimović’s view.
There is huge support for it from relevant international financial institutions – IFIs, but more is needed, in her words.
“If we are going to reach the targets that we set for us, I believe that the European Commission would be partnering with us in all efforts that we are taking,” she concluded.
Photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources
The European Commission is collecting evidence to come up with solutions for unintended effects of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on renewable electricity in the Western Balkans, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Artur Lorkowski pointed out in an interview with Balkan Green Energy News, as one of the most important developments in the sector. Boosting renewable energy development and trade with third countries such as the Western Balkans was supposed to be accelerated by the European Union’s CO2 import tax.
To reduce the payment obligations of EU importers under CBAM, the contracting parties in the region are planning carbon pricing systems, but under different models. The ultimate goal is eventually joining the EU Emissions Trading System, implying the need for coordination and cooperation between the governments in the process, Lorkowski stressed.
Looking back twenty years since the Energy Community Treaty was signed, it proved to be a successful format of cooperation, the Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski said. On the occasion of the anniversary, Balkan Green Energy News sat down with the head of the international organization to speak about the achievements and benefits for the contracting parties, and the remaining milestones that the Western Balkans need to reach in order to integrate with the EU’s energy union.
“Economic growth depends on energy security and fair pricing. There is visible progress in transformation, clearly seen from the 2024 figures. And the final element is the accelerated energy market integration with the EU, and this is what we can be really proud of,” Lorkowski asserted.
Among the segments with tangible improvements, he also highlighted the convergence on the wholesale gas and electricity markets. It is facilitating competitiveness in the Energy Community, the secretariat’s chief added.
Renewables capacity doubled in four years
Fossil fuels used to account for 60% of electricity production in the contracting parties five years ago, compared to 50% now, Lorkowski noted. The significant results in renewables except for large hydro are illustrated by the fact that the overall capacity in the segment has more than doubled between 2020 and 2024, he stressed. More importantly, the carbon footprint – the CO2 emissions per unit of the nominal gross domestic product, fell 11% last year alone.
CO2 emissions per unit of the nominal GDP fell 11% last year in the Energy Community
As for EU integration, electricity market coupling is progressing very well, as a good example, in Lorkowski’s view. The legislation is mostly aligned, so most countries are just waiting for the process to be concluded, the director of the Energy Community Secretariat explained.
“There are operating wholesale markets everywhere in the Western Balkans except in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is about to adopt the required law. Serbia is at the forefront of that process. North Macedonia and Montenegro are very close, with small elements yet to be achieved. It is a non-reversible point, point of no return on a path towards EU integration,” Lorkowski said. He recalled that when capacity calculations regions (CCRs), operationalization and verification are cleared from the to-do list, it would take 18 months to join the EU’s market coupling project.
Electricity can be exempted from CBAM at later stage
Energy Community contracting parties may become eligible for exemption until 2030 from CBAM in electricity, if they meet the CBAM requirements. However, the EU is starting to charge the CO2 import tax already on January 1.
“I wish the contracting parties followed my messages from the Belgrade Energy Forum in 2023, because you might remember me saying that CBAM is coming and we have to prepare for that. But unfortunately, we have observed a lot of delays and hiccups in the preparatory process. Fair enough, this is the reality we have to face now – no country of the Energy Community will be exempted on 1 January 2026. But we can still work to be exempted at a later stage,” Lorkowski underscored.
Artur Lorkowski was a keynote speaker at Belgrade Energy Forum 2025, organized by Balkan Green Energy News
European Commission expected to clarify rules by end of year
The second part of the story is that CBAM, in addition to its intended impacts, especially on coal power, also has unintended impacts, Lorkowski explained. For example, electricity transit between EU member states through the contracting parties, in practice, may also be subject to the tax, even if it was not intended by the European legislators.
CBAM was intended to provide equal treatment for products produced inside and outside the EU when it comes to carbon payments. “Renewable energy, not being subject to the EU ETS, would – logically – not need to be subject to CBAM, but with the current rules, even EU off-takers with cross-border power purchase agreements (PPAs) may still be subject to payment obligations, as the implementing rules remain overly complex, effectively treating them in the same way as fossil fuel importers. These are real problems that stakeholders have been raising with us in our targeted outreach to power companies, traders, and other stakeholders both from the EU and Energy Community,” Lorkowski added.
Legislative efforts to further improve trade in renewables with the EU continue under the Energy Community
The Energy Community Ministerial Council reported it in Athens to the European Commission and asked it to find a solution.
Lorkowski said he expects the EU’s top executive body to soon issue implementing and delegated acts, by the end of 2025, clarifying the CBAM implementation rules, and to follow it up in 2026 with a targeted amendment proposal on electricity.
Legislative efforts to further improve trade in renewables with the EU continue under the Energy Community. “The European Commission has presented to the contracting parties a draft decision on the mutual recognition of guarantees of origin and is now awaiting their feedback. I hope that in 2026 we can have a decision. But it does not mean that the guarantees of origin can be used as the currency for paying the CBAM fee. That would require amending the CBAM legislation,” he stated.
Carbon pricing systems need to evolve toward matching EU ETS
For a potential reduction of CBAM payments in other areas as well – iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers, cement and hydrogen – third countries need to introduce carbon pricing systems. Serbia recently drafted legislation for a CO2 tax and for a tax on imports of carbon-intensive products. It is a good step forward, according to Lorkowski.
“We expect each and every country to make a decision on the carbon pricing. All of the countries of the Energy Community, with the exception of Kosovo*, have communicated to the secretariat which model they will implement. And the models vary: from Serbia’s carbon tax to a domestic emissions trading system of Montenegro, which is already in place,” he revealed.
There is no uniform carbon pricing model for the Energy Community
Namely, the Energy Community Ministerial Council decided not to implement a uniform regional carbon pricing mechanism but opted for individual models. They should all be built with the perspective of aligning eventually with the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), Lorkowski said.
“The key challenge now for the Energy Community is how to maintain the integrity of the electricity market between the contracting parties and the European Union after CBAM enters its definitive phase from next January. We need to figure out how to coordinate among the systems. It implies not only the existence of the domestic carbon markets, but also the cooperation within the region,” he pointed out.
Ministerial Council to announce way forward on carbon pricing coordination
The Ministerial Council is due to conclude on carbon pricing at its regular annual meeting in December, Lorkowski said.
“The three critical elements are how much the CO2 will cost, who will pay – which businesses and sectors are in scope – and when those carbon pricing systems will be introduced. They need to maintain the integrity of the market, the level playing field of the market, and avoid market distortions,” the top Energy Community official added.
Practical policies more important than coal phaseout dates alone
Turning to the coal phaseout, essential for the decarbonization of the economy, Lorkowski acknowledged the significance of political declarations such as the Sofia Declaration and commitments from the national energy and climate plans (NECPs).
“That said, it is critically important to anchor the actions for the future with practical policies. The decisions on the establishment of carbon pricing mechanisms are even more important. In addition, we should focus on monitoring, reporting and verification – MRV systems. The contracting parties need to identify emitters and measure quantities,” the director of the Energy Community Secretariat underscored.
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* This designation is without prejudice to positions onstatus and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Bulgaria’s coal regions will receive BGN 1.58 billion (EUR 808 million) through the Just Transition program, under the European Union’s Just Transition Fund (JTF), for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green hydrogen projects, as well as for converting mining areas for commercial use.
With a EUR 598 million program already underway, total investments in the economic transformation during and after the country’s coal phaseout would reach EUR 1.38 billion. They cover coal regions Stara Zagora, Kyustendil, and Pernik and the municipalities of Nova Zagora, Yambol, Simeonovgrad, Harmanli, Topolovgrad, Dimitrovgrad, Haskovo, Elhovo, Sliven and Tundzha.
Grants from the JTF are intended to help coal regions shut down mines and coal-fired power plants, rehabilitate land, switch to a circular and climate-neutral economy, and lift households out of energy poverty.
By the end of the year, the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works will launch three new procedures for the allocation of grants, according to Deputy Minister Yura Vitanova.
One, worth EUR 153.4 million, will focus on energy communities and energy efficiency in public buildings. Another, worth EUR 72.6 million, will help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) install solar panels and energy storage systems for both self-consumption and commercial use.
A third call, with a budget of EUR 242.9 million, will support the socio-economic transformation, including projects to convert mining areas into business and industrial zones.
Green hydrogen projects will be backed with EUR 134.5 million
Additionally, EUR 134.5 million will be used to fund the development of hydrogen production and transportation infrastructure in Stara Zagora. It includes the construction of a green hydrogen production complex and hydrogen charging stations, the procurement of hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen trailers, and the construction of supporting infrastructure, including photovoltaic systems and energy storage facilities.
The current JTF program in Bulgaria’s coal regions focuses on renovating residential buildings, supporting SMEs, and developing industrial and logistics parks. It also funds training and retraining programs for workers affected by the energy transition, as well as production investments in large enterprises.
