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July 21, 2025
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Hungary’s MVM becomes majority owner of two Serbian firms

Hungarian state-owned energy company MVM has become the majority owner of Serbia-based firms Energotehnika – Južna Bačka from Novi Sad and Elektromontaža from Kraljevo.

Energotehnika – Južna Bačka and Elektromontaža, which were privately owned, provide a wide range of services and goods in the energy sector, primarily in Serbia.

MVM is the dominant producer, distributor, and supplier of electricity and gas in Hungary.

According to local media, MVM has signed a contract with Maneks Group from Serbia to acquire stakes of 60% in its subsidiaries Energotehnika – Južna Bačka and Elektromontaža.

The Hungarian company already owned 33.4% of the two firms.

Zbiljić: Maneks Group’s vision is to operate in the European Union market

Dragoljub Zbiljić, owner of Maneks Group, expressed his satisfaction with the continuation of the merger with MVM. The company’s vision is to operate in the European Union market, he added.

MVM CEO Károly Tamás Mátrai pointed out that the transaction is very important for the company from a strategic perspective.

It has switched from a minority to majority owner, implying a much higher level of cooperation with Serbia, he stressed.

Matrai: The two firms are crucial for energy infrastructure

According to Matrai, the two firms are important for energy infrastructure, and very reliable. Together with them and their management, MVM will be able to contribute to Serbia’s further success, in his view.

The Hungarian company purchased the 33.4% stakes in the two Serbian firms in March 2022. Earlier it said that it saw Serbia as a gateway to the markets of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

In June 2023, MVM signed a contract with Serbia’s state-owned gas firm Srbijagas to set up a gas trading joint venture called SERBHUNGAS, based in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Serbia and Hungary are working on a new power line between the two countries, as well as on their first joint oil pipeline.

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July 18, 2025
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Google signs world’s largest corporate power purchase agreement for hydropower

Global investment firm Brookfield and tech giant Google signed an agreement to deliver up to 3,000 MW of carbon-free hydropower capacity in the United States.

Brookfield said the Hydro Framework Agreement (HFA) is the first of its kind and “the world’s largest corporate clean power deal for hydroelectricity.”

Brookfield Asset Management, together with Brookfield Renewable, and Google said the deal is for 3,000 MW of carbon-free hydroelectric capacity across the US.

Fast development of AI and digitalization is making power supply crucial for tech companies. Goldman Sachs Research forecasted that global power demand from data centers would increase 165% by 2030 from the 2023 level.

The first contracts include Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydropower plants in Pennsylvania

Google has recently signed similar first-of-kind agreements for advanced nuclear and next-generation geothermal energy as well as for fusion energy.

Under HFA, the first contracts are for Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydropower plants in Pennsylvania, representing more than USD 3 billion of power and 670 MW of capacity.

The 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the two facilities will support Google’s operations across PJM. The transaction structure allows Brookfield to maintain existing commitments to power consumers, such as Amtrak, from the Safe Harbor facility.

Brookfield said HFA is a significant step forward in its strategy to deliver flexible, dispatchable clean energy solutions to the technology sector and that the deal supports Google’s ambition to power its operations with 24/7 carbon-free energy.

Google can procure carbon-free electricity from up to 3,000 MW of HPPs

According to Brookfield, under the HFA, Google can procure electricity from up to 3,000 MW of hydropower assets that will be relicensed, overhauled, or upgraded to extend their useful life and continue adding power to the grid.

Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s Head of Data Center Energy, said the collaboration with Brookfield is a significant step forward, ensuring clean energy supply in the PJM region (parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia) where her company operates. Hydropower is a proven low-cost technology, offering dependable, homegrown, carbon-free electricity that creates jobs and builds a stronger grid for all, she added.

According to Connor Teskey, President of Brookfield Asset Management, the partnership with Google demonstrates the critical role that hydropower can play in helping hyperscale customers meet their energy goals.

Delivering power at scale and from a range of sources will be required to meet the growing electricity demands from digitalization and artificial intelligence, he pointed out.

Of note, Brookfield owns power plants with a combined capacity of almost 46,000 MW.

Google to invest over USD 25 billion in data center and AI infrastructure

The deal is part of Google’s planned investments in the area in data center and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. At the Pennsylvania Energy & Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh, the company revealed that it earmarked more than USD 25 billion for the next two years.

President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google Ruth Porat joined President Donald Trump, Senator Dave McCormick and government and business leaders at the summit.

To support the investment, Google is expanding energy capacity and innovation in three ways, the company said.

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July 18, 2025
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Clean transition, decarbonization among priorities in EU’s draft budget

Within the European Union’s proposed budget for the period from 2028 to 2034, the EUR 409 billion European Competitiveness Fund is for investments in strategic technologies, including for the clean transition and decarbonization. The new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), worth EUR 81.4 billion, would finance the completion of Trans-European Networks and foster the EU’s green and clean transition in energy and transportation.

The European Commission proposed the next long-term budget of almost EUR 2 trillion, of which 35% would be earmarked for climate and environment. Energy infrastructure spending in the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034 will be EUR 29.5 billion, five times higher than in the previous seven-year period, it said, arguing it would reinforce energy independence and accelerate the clean transition.

The entire proposed sum amounts to 1.26% of the expected gross national income, on average. The framework is aimed at an independent, prosperous, secure, and thriving society and economy, the update adds.

“Europe faces an increasing number of challenges in numerous areas such as security, defence, competitiveness, migration, energy and climate resilience. These are not temporary but reflect systemic geopolitical and economic shifts that require a strong and forward-looking response,” the EU’s top executive body said.

Adapting to local needs

The European Commission pointed out that the budget would be tailored to local needs. National and regional partnership plans based on investments and reforms would be introduced, for targeted impact where it matters most and ensuring a faster and more flexible support for more economic, social and territorial cohesion across the union, according to the outlined measures.

“Our new long-term budget will help protect European citizens, strengthen Europe’s social model and make our European industry thrive,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated.

For the first time, the spending plan would enable member states to invest more in the EU objectives, with loans of up to 150 billion EUR altogether. “We will call it Catalyst Europe. The loans are backed by the EU budget. It targets common European priorities. You can invest it – for example in defence industry or energy infrastructure or strategic technologies,” Von der Leyen said.

The budget plan includes a European Competitiveness Fund, worth EUR 409 billion, for investment in strategic technologies. Operating under one rulebook, and offering a single gateway to funding applicants, it aims to simplify and accelerate EU funding and catalyse private and public investment. The focus is on four areas:

  • clean transition and decarbonization,
  • digital transition,
  • health, biotech, agriculture and bioeconomy,
  • defense and space.

In close connection with the European Competitiveness Fund, the EU research framework, with its flagship Horizon Europe worth EUR 175 billion, will continue to finance world-class innovation, the commissioners revealed.

Commissioners line up EUR 81.4 billion in budget for next Connecting Europe Facility

The next Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), worth EUR 81.4 billion, would finance the completion of Trans-European Networks and foster the EU’s green and clean transition in energy and transportation. It covers cross-border projects for energy, transportation and military mobility that are essential for competitiveness and security and reducing strategic dependencies.

To simplify external action financing, the EU’s top executive body envisaged an item called Global Europe, of EUR 200 billion, to maximise impact on the ground and improve visibility of EU external action in partner countries. It would allow the EU budget to step up support to candidate countries and prepare for their accession.

Among other segments, the European Commission said it plans to direct 75% of revenues from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to the EU budget. It expects the resource to generate EUR 1.4 billion per year.

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July 17, 2025
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Bulgarian firm to install pilot hydropower plant on pontoon on Danube

With the ambition to build several hydroelectric plants on pontoons on the Danube river in Bulgaria, a local company intends to install a 20 kW pilot facility in Vidin.

An initiative is underway for the deployment of an environmentally friendly energy production technology on Europe’s second-largest river. Vidin-based company Tyfun intends to build a pontoon hydroelectric plant near the Telegraph kapia (Telegraph Gate) of the town’s Kaleto (Baba Vida) fortress.

It is the first phase of its ambition to install several such facilities in the Bulgarian section of the Danube river, according to an investment proposal that it submitted to the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection of Montana.

The firm said the 20 kW micro hydropower plant would not affect any area of ​​the Danube in ​​Bulgaria or its coast.

The construction of the prototype will allow testing of the new source of renewable energy, using a significantly more efficient technology and ensuring a continuous supply of clean energy, Tyfun added. In addition, it will demonstrate the viability of hydrokinetic technology as a reliable renewable energy source from the Danube river, with significant benefits, due to the low cost of energy and minimal adverse environmental impacts, the company said.

The facility would be operational 24 hours a day, all year round. During the first month after commissioning, the efficiency of the technology will be analyzed, as well as its volume, productivity and scope, the project shows.

The machine would be three meters long and 1.5 meters wide, placed on a pontoon of 20 times ten meters.

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July 17, 2025
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Construction of largest wind farm in Western Balkans kicks off in Štip in North Macedonia

The construction of the largest wind farm in the Western Balkans region has begun in North Macedonia. The Government of North Macedonia and investor Alcazar Energy Partners held a groundbreaking ceremony near the city of Štip for the 400 MW facility.

The Štip wind farm will cover an area of 326 hectares in the municipalities of Karbinci, Radoviš, and Štip, southeast of the capital city of Skopje. Alcazar Energy Partners, which is developing the largest renewable energy platform in the Western Balkans, plans to invest USD 500 million and install 55 wind turbines, which would generate electricity equivalent to the needs of 100,000 households.

The largest operational wind farm in the Western Balkans is Čibuk 1, with a capacity of 158 MW, while the largest project in the pipeline is Maestrale Ring, also in Serbia, for 854 MW.

Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alcazar Energy Daniel Calderon praised North Macedonia’s readiness to launch such a large-scale project.

The investment will create 600 jobs

The foundation is being laid for a project worth over USD 500 million, which will create 600 jobs, provide clean energy, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, he stated.

Photo: Government of North Macedonia

Calderon also recalled that in a Bloomberg analysis, investments in renewable energy in the Western Balkans were estimated at USD 11 billion. Due to its advantages, including location, North Macedonia can expect to receive 30% to 40% of it.

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski noted that the ceremony represents the fulfillment of what the newly formed government promised and agreed with the investor a year ago. He added it is only the first phase.

The power plant will produce 1 TWh of electricity per year

There are many more ideas on how the investment can add even greater value and be more significant both for the investor and for North Macedonia, but it will be discussed at a later stage, according to Mickoski.

He added that the power plant would generate 1 TWh of electricity per year.

North Macedonia currently has two wind farms – Bogdanci, with a capacity of 36.8 MW and a 15 MW expansion underway, and Bogoslovec, of 36 MW, in which the Green Growth Fund (GGF) is a minority shareholder.

The largest wind farm in Europe has a capacity of 2,000 MW

In mid-April, Alcazar Energy Partners signed a development support agreement for the Štip project with the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. The company has a 1.6 GW pipeline of greenfield onshore wind and solar assets,

Of note, the largest operational wind farm in Europe is Markbygden in Sweden, with a capacity of 2,000 MW. Among the top ten, there is another wind farm in Sweden and one in Norway, while the others are in the United Kingdom. The list also includes the 600 MW Fântânele-Cogealac-Gradina wind park in Romania.

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July 17, 2025
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Elektrohertz gets concession for solar project in Republic of Srpska

Republic of Srpska, one of the two entities constituting Bosnia and Herzegovina, is set to host another solar power plant. It would be one of the largest ones, with a capacity of 150 MW.

In late May, construction began on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s largest solar power plant so far, with a capacity of 125 MW. The most recently inaugurated large photovoltaic facility was Stolac, with a capacity of 64 MW.

Now the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska signed a concession agreement for the construction and operation of the Javor photovoltaic plant in the municipality of Rogatica.

In May, the entity government granted the concession to Elektrohertz, based in the same town in the country’s east, for the construction and operation of the facility, of 150 MW.

The concession has been granted for 30 years

The estimated annual production of the solar park is 197 GWh, and the concession was granted for a period of 30 years. The total investment value is BAM 194.4 million (EUR 99.4 million). It is scheduled to go online within the next four years, the ministry said.

Before finalizing the concession contract, the concessionaire, private developer Elektrohertz, delivered a one-off payment to the budget of the Republic of Srpska, of BAM 971,932 (EUR 497,000).

The Rogatica municipal budget is entitled to 95% of the concession fee

When the facility becomes operational, the concessionaire will be obligated to pay a fee of BAM 0.0055 (EUR 0.0028) per kWh of generated electricity to the budget of the Republic of Srpska. A 95% share is allocated for the Rogatica municipal budget.

The most recent concession granted by the entity Ministry of Energy and Mining went to state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS) for the proposed Trebinje 3 solar power plant. It was in late April.

It is ERS’s third concession for photovoltaic plants.

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