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October 8, 2025
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Under Reform Agenda, BiH commits to aligning electricity prices with market

By adopting the Reform Agenda, Bosnia and Herzegovina committed to liberalizing the electricity market, aligning electricity prices with market levels, and supporting the green transition through renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Reform Agenda, after a delay longer than one year, and submitted it to the European Commission. It made the move just as the deadline, set by the commission, was about to expire on September 30.

If it failed to adopt the document, BiH would have lost EUR 108 million out of a total of EUR 976.6 million that was allocated to the country under the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, worth around EUR 6 billion overall. Due to the delay, BiH already lost EUR 108 million in July.

The first step in price harmonization is to conduct a study on different scenarios

One of the obligations from the Reform Agenda is to align household electricity prices with market prices in the region and the European Union by 2027, domestic media reported.

The measure is aimed at making price formation more transparent and integrating BiH better into the regional and European electricity markets.

The first step in price harmonization would be to conduct a study on different scenarios for price deregulation for households. It will serve as a tool to plan price increases. The study is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

The current price of electricity in BiH is below ten eurocents

According to the latest Eurostat data, for the second half of last year, the price of electricity for households in BiH was below ten eurocents. Prices in the European Union ranged from ten eurocents in Hungary to 40 in Ireland.

The European Commission is required to assess the Reform Agenda and approve it if it matches expectations. Payments are directly linked to the measures that governments in the region vow to implement.

Of note, in early July, the European Commission proposed the first tranches from the support package, worth EUR 87.7 million in total, for projects in Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia.

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October 8, 2025
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Powering the Future with Sustainable Energy – North Macedonia to host 14-IFESD forum on October 28-30

Over 300 officials, policymakers, experts, business leaders, scholars and civil society representatives are gathering in Skopje on October 28 at the three-day International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development (14-IFESD). Key topics include energy connectivity, energy security, a just energy transition and international energy cooperation.

The 14th International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development (14-IFESD) will be held from October 28 to 30 at the Hotel Holiday Inn Skopje in North Macedonia. This year’s theme, From Goals to Action: Powering the Future with Sustainable Energy, will guide discussions among more than 300 participants, including officials, policymakers, energy experts, business leaders, scholars and civil society representatives.

They will discuss critical topics such as energy connectivity, energy security, just energy transition, international energy cooperation and collective efforts to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The forum will serve as a platform for shaping actionable strategies to accelerate progress toward global sustainable energy goals

The Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources is organizing the event in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office in North Macedonia and the five regional commissions: UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

Last year’s IFESD was held in Bangkok.

The speakers list includes Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Božinovska, Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski and Minister of Energy and Mining of Montenegro Admir Šahmanović.

The forum will serve as a platform for shaping actionable strategies to accelerate progress toward global sustainable energy goals, the organizers said.

One of the segments on the first day of 14-IFESD is dedicated to opportunities for the mitigation of methane emissions from the coal sector. It will take place in a hybrid format – onsite and online.

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October 8, 2025
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GridFlex to install standalone BESS in Serbia

GridFlex plans to install a standalone battery energy storage system with a capacity of 125 MWh near the city of Leskovac, in southern Serbia. The investment is estimated at EUR 17 million.

Serbia doesn’t have any utility-scale batteries, but many are in the project pipeline. GridFlex is one of 11 companies in the process of obtaining approvals from transmission system operator (TSO) Elektromreža Srbije (EMS) for the connection of planned standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) to the network.

Mayor of Leskovac Goran Cvetanović met with representatives of Turkish company GridFlex, which has an office in Belgrade.

Battery systems provide flexibility to the system

The company is developing a project for a BESS that would provide system flexibility, support the integration of renewable energy sources, and contribute to the local economy, the city authority said.

GridFlex plans to invest EUR 17 million in the installation of an energy storage facility in Leskovac, the update revealed.

Owner and CEO of GridFlex Alkin Yaman participated in the meeting.

The deadline for completing the construction is the end of 2026

The planning and technical documentation for the facility is under development. The deadline for completing the facility is the end of 2026, while commissioning is expected in early 2027, the city stressed.

The battery would be installed on 1.5 hectares of privately owned land that the firm purchased near the Leskovac 2 substation.

The city will provide assistance to GridFlex for project implementation.

Three co-owners

The investment will secure numerous benefits for the city – the possibility of new investments, weakened load and voltage fluctuations in the power system, and an increase in the capacity for connecting new local consumers and producers to the grid, the local authority stressed.

According to data from the Business Registers Agency, the owners of GridFlex are Alkin Sevket Yaman, Sirin Cem, and Denis Severinov Karamov.

Of note, investors in Serbia are in the process of obtaining approvals for connecting their planned BESS facilities of an overall 2,021 MW and 5,899 MWh to the grid. They would be standalone batteries and ones co-located with power plants.

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October 8, 2025
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EU solar jobs headed to first decrease in decade

Jobs in the European Union’s solar industry reached a record level last year, however they are dropping in 2025.

Nevertheless, the decrease in solar jobs this year could be only temporary, according to SolarPower Europe’s latest report.

Europe’s green job expansion continued in 20254, with EU solar jobs rising to a record high of 865,000. The sector’s 5% increase outperformed the wider EU labour market’s 0.8% growth, the EU Solar Jobs Report 2025 showed.

Most jobs, 86%, are provided by the solar deployment sector.

EU solar employment will face a temporary drop in 2025, of 5% decline to 825,000 jobs, due to slower solar deployment and manufacturing challenges, the update reads.

Nevertheless, the association expects solar workforce to grow over the coming years and reach 916,000 by 2029.

Solar delivers 825,000 quality jobs for Europe in 2025, said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe. It is incredible, she added.

“However, this falls short of the one million solar job mark we were hoping to reach by now, and for the first time in a decade, solar jobs growth has halted. We can’t ignore this warning. EU leaders have the opportunity to reverse course, stabilise the market, support EU solar manufacturers, and strengthen its skills strategy,” Hemetsberger stated.

The main reason for the decrease this year is a slowdown in residential solar. The share of EU rooftop solar workforce has been shrinking for the last three years, from 73% in 2022, to 59% in 2024, and it is projected to land at 56% in 2029, according to the report.

In July, the association estimated that the EU’s annual solar installations would come in weaker year-on-year in 2025 for the first time in a decade. The warning coincided with the month when solar power became the EU’s biggest electricity source for the first time.

Germany remained the leading EU country for employment

The largest national solar markets also represented the largest sources of solar employment in the EU.

Germany remained in the lead in employment last year, with around 128,000 direct and indirect full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. However, the level tumbled from 154,000, registered in 2023, despite a jump in new installations to 17.2 GW from 15.1 GW.

Spain ranked second, with 122,000 FTEs. Italy saw significant growth, with the solar job market surpassing 100,000 workers, placing it third in the EU. Other top markets included Poland (90,000), France (66,000), Romania (62,000), and Hungary (47,000), the report adds.

SolarPower Europe issued ten policy recommendations for maintaining job growth:

  1. Establish a European solar skills intelligence hub.
  2. Scale and stabilize funding for renewable skills, with simplified access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
  3. Map existing skills initiatives.
  4. Conclude sectoral agreements to enable large-scale retraining.
  5. Run coordinated campaigns to improve the attractiveness of technical green careers as well as apprenticeships and vocational training.
  6. Promote gender balance and diversity in solar careers.
  7. Develop cross-renewable career pathways and portable competence frameworks.
  8. Introduce a European solar skills passport.
  9. Adopt an electrification skills strategy that links photovoltaics with heat, mobility and storage.
  10. Invest in advanced digital and artificial intelligence (AI) training.
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October 7, 2025
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Green light for one of first standalone battery investments in Cyprus

The Cypriot Department of Environment has approved the project for what is set to become one of the country’s first battery energy storage systems. HESS Hybrid Energy Storage Systems is planning to install a 59 MW facility with a capacity of 120 MWh, which would ease the strain on the European Union’s only non-interconnected electricity grids.

Pressured by curtailments of renewable electricity and frequent outages amid a lack of flexibility, Cyprus is in a rush to install battery energy storage systems (BESS). Stabilizing the grid is challenging also because of delays in the introduction of gas and the Great Sea Interconnector project, as the island country is the only one in the European Union without a power transmission link to the rest of the 27-member bloc.

Soon after state-owned Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) launched a tender for a contractor for two BESS facilities, a private firm received a green light from the Department of Environment for a planned investment.

HESS Hybrid Energy Storage Systems is developing a project for a standalone battery system with 59 MW in operating power, which would consist of just as many units. Having 2 MWh in capacity each, the installation would amount to 120 MWh in nominal terms.

Water protection, relocation of olive trees are among obligatory measures

The department ruled that an environmental impact study isn’t required, but under several mitigation measures. For instance, the developer must deliver excess excavation material to a licensed entity, and use surface soil for landscaping.

Olive trees would be removed, and the groundwater and local water stream protected. The project involves underground cabling and wetting to contain dust during construction.

Grid development plan indicates 2029 for commissioning

The 4.9-hectare location is in Psevda in Larnaca district, near the 10.8 MW Ayia Anna (Agia Anna) wind park. The BESS would have a 50 MW connection to the 132 kV transmission grid, and an effective storage capacity of 100 MWh, documentation shows.

It would include an on-site substation, eight medium-voltage transformer units and 259 converters. The Electricity Authority of Cyprus plans to upgrade the nearby Psevdas high-voltage substation by 2029 to integrate the standalone battery system.

Construction work is expected to last ten months, while the cost of the BESS project is valued at EUR 22 million.

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October 7, 2025
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Software maker Volue acquires power trading, battery optimization platform smartPulse

Volue took over smartPulse, accelerating the expansion into Central and Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and Turkey, with its power trading and battery optimization capabilities.

Software maker Volue said it has completed a deal to acquire smartPulse, a full-suite short-term power trading and battery optimization platform for asset owners and aggregators across Europe. It significantly accelerates the expansion into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Southern Europe and Türkiye, according to the announcement.

The takeover will expand the offering with a comprehensive suite that now covers forecasting, position management, scheduling and nomination, day-ahead bidding, intraday trading, battery optimization and asset connectivity, Volue said. The company said it provides solutions and systems powering the green transition as well as insights to industries critical to society. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, it is active in more than 40 countries.

Volue pointed out that it is strengthening its capabilities with smartPulse’s proven platform and seasoned team, adding that they bring decades of expertise in one of Europe’s fastest-growing power markets.

SmartPulse to benefit from Volue’s resources, expertise, commercial team

Founded in 2018 in Turkey, smartPulse is a certified independent software vendor (ISV) at EPEX Spot, Nord Pool and various other European energy exchanges, with more than 80 energy market specialists.

The firm expressed confidence it would benefit from Volue’s resources, expertise and commercial team to further accelerate its development and geographic expansion while also strengthening its end-to-end value proposition.

Jointly connecting assets to markets

“With this acquisition, we accelerate our expansion into new European markets and strengthen our position as a full-suite provider for renewable asset operators. The move directly enhances our battery storage and optimisation capabilities, deepens our presence across regions, and supports our ambition of becoming the leading global independent energy software player,” said Volue’s Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Transformation Officer Martin Vieider.

The transaction enables smartPulse to accelerate its European rollout of transmission system operator (TSO) connections and broaden its suite internationally, while giving customers the confidence of a market-leading global partner, according to CEO and co-founder Önder Akar

“We share Volue’s ambition of connecting assets to markets, and we’re excited to scale that vision together,” he stated.

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