Blog – Full Width

  1. Home
  2. Blog – Full Width
August 6, 2025
by

Federation of BiH prime minister says ETS could be introduced by end-2025

State institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of its two political entities, the Federation of BiH, will take joint steps aimed at introducing an emissions trading system by the end of the year, according to Nermin Nikšić, the entity’s prime minister.

According to Nikšić, the European Union’s carbon border tax, which is set to take effect on January 1, 2026, poses a serious challenge that demands swift and decisive action at the state level to protect thousands of jobs and prevent a dramatic drop in BiH’s industrial exports, the Fena state news agency reported.

Nikšić announced joint activities by entity and state institutions aimed at establishing an emissions trading system (ETS) by the end of 2025.

With the full rollout of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) at the beginning of next year, importers in the EU will pay a tax on cement, iron, steel, aluminum, fertilizers, hydrogen, and electricity from countries without CO2 pricing systems. It applies to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as other countries of the Western Balkans.

Nikšić: To maintain exports to the EU, Bosnia and Herzegovina must urgently establish a framework recognized by the bloc

To maintain its exports to the EU, BiH must urgently establish a framework that the bloc recognizes, Nikšić explained. He recalled that BiH is the only country in the region without an electricity exchange, and said it is time for all levels of government to act jointly and responsibly.

FBiH Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry Vedran Lakić expressed the belief that the best way for Bosnia and Herzegovina to protect its economy and keep carbon tax revenues for itself is to establish its own emissions trading system. Without such a scheme, he warned, tens of millions of euros will end up in the EU budget

The revenues would be used to modernize production facilities, reduce emissions, and speed up the green transition, said Lakić.

According to him, the ministry is preparing financial support, through the FBiH Development Bank, for businesses that decide to install solar panels. This, he claims, will enable them to produce electricity for their own needs and avoid CBAM.

Hope dies last

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro have requested delaying the CBAM implementation, as did the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), but the EU confirmed it would proceed as planned. The Energy Community Secretariat pointed out that none of its contracting parties, including Western Balkan countries, would be able to get an exemption for electricity before the tax begins to be charged.

As January 1 is just months away, CBAM’s impact will become clear relatively soon. In Serbia, the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) recently warned that the carbon border tax would threaten jobs and businesses that employ about 7% of the country’s workforce and account for 11% of its GDP.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, an official analysis has shown that CBAM could cost the country’s economy between EUR 369 million and EUR 1.62 billion through 2030.

Post Views:69
August 6, 2025
by

Bulgaria on track to add 1.5 GW of solar power by mid-2026

The pace of large photovoltaic projects in Bulgaria indicates that total capacity can reach 6 GW by the middle of next year. The expansion isn’t slowing down.

Investors in large solar power plants in Bulgaria don’t seem intimidated by zero and negative wholesale electricity prices eating away at their revenues. One of the factors is a surge in the construction of battery energy storage systems (BESS), which iron out the gap between intraday peak production and the power demand curve. In a new analysis, Capital.bg estimated that the country’s photovoltaic capacity is set to increase by 1.5 GW by the end of the first half of next year, only accounting for big projects.

The total would reach 6 GW. The report lists 14 projects, of which some are benefitting from BESS grants from one of Bulgaria’s past tenders.

Chinese group building largest current PV project

The biggest solar park under construction is Simeonovgrad-Polyanovo, consisting of two units of 250 MW in total. It is located in the Haskovo region in the southern part of the country.

United Energy Group bought the two projects last year. It it the first significant Chinese investment in Bulgaria, the article reads. The PV plant is expected to be put into operation early next year.

The construction of the first phase of the Tenevo hybrid power plant began almost two years ago

Next on the list is Tenevo. Almost two years ago, Eurowind Energy and Renalfa IPP marked the start of the construction of the solar segment of a hybrid power plant near Yambol. The PV park is envisaged with 237.6 MW in peak capacity and a 213.7 MW grid connection.

The largest solar power plant in Bulgaria is called Apriltsi.

St. George coming online before year-end

Czech company Rezolv Energy bought the St. George project for 229 MW two years ago and broke ground at the construction site last autumn. According to the latest data, the investment is worth almost BGN 1 billion (EUR 511 million) and it is coming online by the end of the year. The developer secured a 199 MW connection.

Greek government-controlled utility Public Power Corp. (PPC) is commissionning its Colosseum (Kolizeum) facility of 165 MW in the coming months, the update reveals. The project in Chirpan has an approved network connection of 120 MW. The company is planning to add batteries of 25 MW in capability and a capacity of 55 MWh.

The company is also building an 88 MW in Vedrare near Plovdiv. The contractor for the facility in the municipality of Karlovo is Chint Green Energy of the Chint Group. The power plant is on track to become operational early next year.

A 123 MW system will be on 400 hectares between the villages of Knizhovnik and Dolno Vojvodino in Haskovo. Austria-based Enery said it would install a BESS of 180 MWh next to its solar park.

Electrohold is testing its Maglizh PV plant, the article adds. The project for 100 MW occupies 127 hectares and the estimated investment is almost EUR 90 million. The plan was changed along the way.

Top Energy Solutions has a construction permit for its Loznitsa project in northeastern Bulgaria. The project is for a peak capacity of 115 MW and a grid connection of 99.99 MW, spanning 82.4 hectares. It is located at the villages of Vesselina and Kamenar in the Loznitsa municipality, Razgrad district.

Post Views:55
August 6, 2025
by

Private equity fund to take over 39.5% stake in Romanian SMR project

DS Private Equity (DSPE) is reportedly entering ownership in RoPower Nuclear, a project firm working to build a small modular reactor (SMR) in Romania. In a proposed capital increase, current co-owners Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power and Gas, now at 50% each, would land at 46.5% and 14%, respectively. The South Korean firm’s DSPE Beta Private Equity Fund would control the remaining stake in the Doicești project.

RoPower Nuclear is getting a third co-owner. The joint venture established for the SMR project northwest of Bucharest is about to get a capital increase as part of the financing process, according to a document that Profit.ro obtained.

State-owned Nuclearelectrica, which operates Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear power plant, and Nova Power and Gas (NPG) of the E-Infra group, now own 50% each. Under a new deal, DSPE Beta Private Equity Fund, controlled by DS Private Equity from South Korea, would contribute EUR 68 million in cash and get a 39.5% stake, the report reveals.

Nuclearelectrica to be biggest shareholder

Nuclearelectrica has earmarked EUR 76 million, with an option to convert part of its loans to RoPower Nuclear into ownership, instead of providing cash, the article reads. It would lower the company’s stake to 46.5%.

NPG would add EUR 20 million and have 14% after the transaction. E-Infra is controlled by Romanian entrepreneurs Teofil Mureșan, Simion Mureșan and Marian Pantazescu.

The proposed agreement would lift the project firm’s capital from EUR 8 million to EUR 172 million. DSPE is a shareholder in NuScale Power, which owns the technology for the planned SMR facility of 462 MW. It would be built in Doicești in Dâmbovița county in the Muntenia region. It is the site of a former coal plant.

DSPE could bring KEXIM, Samsung on board

NuScale, based in Oregon in the United States, recently said that it expects Romania to reach a final investment decision early in the second quarter of next year at the latest.

DSPE can bolster the project through its relationship with financial institutions such as Korea Export-Import Bank (KEXIM) and potential contractors including Samsung, the news outlet learned.

The Ministry of Energy in Bucharest earlier estimated the cost of the Doicești project at EUR 4.9 billion.

Post Views:123
August 5, 2025
by

World far off track from tripling renewables by 2030

Two years after a pledge at COP28 to triple global renewables capacity to 11 TW by 2030, a new analysis by Ember shows the world is only on track to double it, to 7.4 TW. The report finds that national targets have increased globally by just 2% since 2023 and that only 22 countries have updated their goals since COP28, mostly in the European Union.

Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA), said it is “crazy to see how far off track” the world is from tripling renewables. In a LinkedIn post, he warned that despite renewable energy breaking records every year and the energy transition being inevitable, countries are not moving fast enough.

Douglas: Despite renewable energy breaking records, countries are not moving fast enough

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have both confirmed that doubling energy efficiency and tripling renewables capacity is the fastest and cheapest way to decarbonize and deliver energy security in this decade, he wrote.

The new data, according to him, should be used to double global efforts, hold governments to account for what they signed up to, and encourage all stakeholders to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity. Ember’s report states that increases in national commitments, followed by swift implementation, can help bring the global tripling goal within reach.

Ember: Increased targets and swift implementation can help triple renewables

According to Ember, among the top 20 electricity producers globally, national ambition remains largely unchanged.

The United States does not have a national target for renewable energy by 2030 and is not expected to set it in the near future. India’s target of 500 GW remains unchanged, while Russia does not have a 2030 target and is not expected to publish one.

China is currently finalizing its 15th five-year energy plan, which is expected to include a renewable energy target by 2030, according to Ember.

Its analysis comes at a time when countries are preparing for COP30 in Brazil in November.

Post Views:18
August 5, 2025
by

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s power utility keeps posting losses amid weak output, increased imports

State power utility Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EPBiH) failed to stabilize its operations and turn a profit in the first half of 2025, posting a loss of BAM 45.47 million (EUR 23.25 million) instead. The poor performance was largely due to reduced electricity production and increased imports caused by a coal shortage.

EPBiH’s target for the first six months of 2025 was BAM 11 million in profit. Instead, the state power utility generated a loss that was by BAM 18.76 million higher than in the same period of 2024, when the loss amounted to BAM 26.71 million, according to Biznisinfo.

EPBiH suffered a net loss of EUR 29.4 million in 2024, following a EUR 170 million loss in the previous year.

In the first half of this year, EPBiH’s hydropower plants generated 121.8 GWh less electricity than planned, while output at its thermal power plants fell short of the target by as much as 651.4 GWh amid a coal shortage. At the same time, due to the lower production in its own power plants, EPBiH’s expenditure on electricity purchases was several times higher than planned.

The lower production and losses were mainly due to the coal shortage

In H1 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina imported almost 4.5 times more electricity than it did in the same period in 2024, reflecting the difficult state of EPBiH and the other two power utilities in the country – Elektroprivreda HZHB (EPHZHB) and Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS).

EPBiH recorded a loss despite higher revenues

EPBiH recorded the six-month loss despite an increase in total revenues, from BAM 561.8 million in H1 2024 to BAM 745.1 million in the first half of this year. Revenues from power purchase agreements grew from BAM 549.3 million to BAM 733.3 million.

Total expenditures, however, increased to BAM 790.6 million from BAM 588.5 million in the first half of last year.

Post Views:10
August 5, 2025
by

CW Enerji to tap on subsidies in Turkey for solar panel factory project

CW Enerji earmarked USD 520 million for the expansion of its solar panel manufacturing capacity in Antalya to 5 GW per year. It said it would benefit from the government’s HIT-30 incentives program.

While Europe is stagnating in solar panel production and some large facilities are even closing under pressure from China’s increasing global dominance, Turkey is expanding its industrial base across new green energy technologies. CW Enerji is about to invest USD 520 million in the construction of a photovoltaic equipment factory, Anadolu Agency reported.

The company said it would implement the project under the government’s HIT-30 incentives program for high technology. The location is in AOSB – Antalya Organized Industrial Zone in the country’s southern, Mediterranean region.

High domestic content enables access to subsidies

CW Enerji’s new facility, would complement the existing CW Solar Cell factory. It makes up to 1.2 GW of TOPCon high-efficiency solar cells per year and the company claims it is the largest in Europe.

The upcoming investment would enable an annual capacity of 5 GW by the end of the second phase, in 2028, according to the company. The products would have a domestic content of more than 80%, complying with the requirements for tax incentives, CW Enerji’s Chairman Tarık Sarvan said.

He founded the company in Turkey in 2010. It also makes other components and provides installation and maintenance services. CW Enerji has established subsidiaries in Munich, Germany, and Houston, Texas. Total solar panel capacity is 1.8 GW per year and it exports to nearly 60 countries, Sarvan added. He pointed out that the company’s target markets are the United States and Europe.

Dozens of companies manufacturing PV equipment in Turkey

Right before CW Enerji’s announcement, Astronergy allocated USD 700 million for its second solar module factory, in Balıkesir.

Early this year, 75 solar panel manufacturers operated in Turkey. Put together, their annual capacity was 44.5 GW. Three were making solar cells and their overall capacity was 6.1 GW per year.

The country is also strong in other technologies, like for geothermal power plants.

The government recently declared a 2035 target for solar and wind of 120 GW in total. At the end of June, Turkey’s total electricity capacity was 119,6 GW, of which photovoltaics accounted for just under 23 GW.

Post Views:22