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October 1, 2025
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Montenegro to produce coal until 2050

The Pljevlja coal mine has been granted a concession for coal production for 24.5 years, extending the extraction of the solid fossil fuel until 2050.

Admir Šahmanović, Minister of Energy and Mining, and Nemanja Laković, CEO of coal mine operator Rudnik uglja Pljevlja (RUP), exchanged concession agreements for the period up to 2050.

They spoke at a ceremony in Pljevlja marking Miner’s Day, September 24, and the 73rd anniversary of the mine’s operation.

The signing of the concession agreement enables the long-term use of significant coal reserves in the Pljevlja municipality, which is one of the key steps in further valorizing the mining potential of northern Montenegro, according to the Ministry of Mining and Energy.

The coal extraction concession is granted for 24.5 years

“Our joint mission is for mining in Montenegro to continue developing responsibly, and in line with the highest standards. Our special focus will be on the development and future of this sector, having in mind the changes introduced by a just transition,” Šahmanović stated.

In late June, the Government of Montenegro decided to grant the concession to the mine for the excavation of lignite deposits at the sites Potrlica, Kalušići, Grevo, and Rabitlje in the Pljevlja coal basin.

The duration of the contract is 24.5 years, the government said. The mine is obliged to produce at least 1.65 million tons of lignite annually.

The Pljevlja coal power plant is planned for closing in 2041

The concession fee amounts to 4% of the market value of the excavation reserves.

Of note, almost the entire production of the mine is for the Pljevlja thermal power plant – the country’s only coal plant and the largest electricity producer.

The draft National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) of Montenegro proposes 2041 as the provisional date for closing the Pljevlja coal plant.

The timeline primarily depends on the success of the just transition process and maintaining the security of the electricity supply, the document reads.

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October 1, 2025
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WISE Serbia Annual Women’s Network Event – October 16 in Belgrade

The Center for the Promotion of Sustainable Development and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH are organizing the annual WISE Serbia Women’s Network event, which will take place on October 16 at Fabrika Events in Belgrade.

The WISE Serbia Women’s Network in sustainable energy, climate action, and environmental protection has been in existence since 2018 and is one of the first networks of its kind worldwide. WISE Serbia brings together over 250 female experts from the energy sector and related fields, promoting their role in the energy transition, as well as in the democratization and decentralization of the energy sector. The network is recognized as a platform that connects knowledge, experience, and vision of women shaping a sustainable energy and climate future in Serbia.

Registration is open until October 10 or until places are filled via this LINK. The program begins at 4:30 PM at Fabrika Events, Poenkareova 32, Belgrade. Participation in the event is free of charge.

This year, 10 outstanding women have been nominated for the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2025 award. Voting is open until October 10 on the WISE Serbia website. Take the opportunity to support the woman you believe deserves the title of leader in sustainable energy.

“This is the third edition of the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy award. Year after year, we celebrate exceptional women professionally engaged in the energy sector, climate action, and environmental protection. Each nominee could rightfully earn the title of leader. Their biographies and professional achievements speak for themselves. They are recognized in their teams as women who drive change and serve as inspiration and motivation for all of us to continue building a sustainable present and future,” emphasized Branislava Jovičić, cofounder of the WISE Serbia Women’s Network.

Photo: Branislava Jovičić, co-founder of the WISE Serbia women’s network, and Svetlana Cervovic, last year’s winner of the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy award.

The event will be officially opened by H.E. Anke Konrad, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Jovana Joksimović, Assistant Minister for International Cooperation, European Integration, and Project Management at the Ministry of Mining and Energy.

The program will continue with a panel discussion moderated by Maja Turković, Executive Vice President at CWP Europe and the 2023 Leader in Sustainable Energy awardee.

Following the panel discussion, the finalists for the Leader in Sustainable Energy award will be announced, followed by the winner’s presentation and the ceremonial award presentation.

The media sponsor of the event is Balkan Green Energy News.

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September 30, 2025
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Race against time to secure EU funding for waste-to-energy plants in Greece

Hostile reactions from citizens and the opposition by municipal authorities threaten to derail Greece’s efforts to build six waste-to-energy plants. Moreover, time is running out to secure EUR 800 million in European funding.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy is expected to publish a call for waste-to-energy projects planned in Attica, Western Macedonia, Rodopi, Peloponnese, Boeotia (Viotia) and Crete. Total investment would amount to EUR 1 billion, for 1.19 million tons in capacity. However, time is running out to secure EUR 800 million in European funding set aside for them and the accompanying recycling plants.

Greece has been warned several times by the European Commission and fined for failing to fulfil its obligations in waste management. The country still relies mostly on landfills to handle municipal waste, instead of modern solutions. Ideally, useful materials should be sorted for recycling before the waste gets burned in incinerators to produce energy.

Two of the proposed units, the ones in Rodopi and Western Macedonia, are expected to provide district heating. The Ptolemaida 5 lignite-fired plant supplies district heating in the coal region of Western Macedonia in the country’s north, but it is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2028 at the latest.

Its owner, Public Power Corporation (PPC or DEI) aims to complete a waste-to-energy plant by then. Other prospective investors include GEK Terna, Metlen, Aktor and Motor Oil Hellas, all big players in the country’s energy market.

High fees and pollution worry municipalities

Many local authorities have expressed their objections to hosting these plants, fearing a rise in municipal fees and pollution. A discussion is underway in numerous municipal councils. They could lodge appeals to the Supreme Court and delay the process.

Amanatidis: Cancel all waste-to-energy plans

The regional council of Western Macedonia recently voted overwhelmingly to reject the plan for PPC’s planned unit from the ministry’s strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Governor Giorgos Amanatidis called on the government to withdraw the study and cancel the project. Municipalities in the same region and other institutions are also against an incinerator.

European funding through the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) ends in 2027. The government and investors have until mid-2026 for implementation, Newmoney reported, adding that waste-to-energy projects take two to three years to complete.

Recently, another initiative, the Apollo program, for investments in renewable energy to lower energy costs for vulnerable consumers, lost EUR 100 million from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

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September 30, 2025
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Bulgarian capital Sofia to create its first energy community in Vitosha district

Citizens and businesses in Sofia will be able to invest in a photovoltaic system on a school rooftop as part of the first energy community. It would be a partnership between the city’s Vitosha District, individuals and legal entities.

Following a few early initiatives in Bulgaria, the capital city decided to establish its first energy community. The Sofia Municipal Council voted to call on individuals and firms to invest in the installation of a rooftop solar power plant of 74.8 kW in peak capacity.

The system, expected to become operational within a few months, would be on the Acad. Emilian Stanev secondary school in the district of Vitosha. The plan is to use the electricity for the building’s needs and for other municipal facilities.

Participants can invest EUR 260 to EUR 2,600 each

The project is worth BGN 90,000 (EUR 46,000), including value-added tax, according to the local authority. The Vitosha District has earmarked just over EUR 1,000 for the endeavor. Citizens and businesses in Sofia would be invited to invest between EUR 260 and EUR 2,600 per participant in the energy cooperative.

Dzhambazov: I believe that local government should be the driver for decentralized energy

“I believe that local government should be the driver for decentralized energy,” Deputy District Mayor Krasimir Dzhambazov said. There are 24 districts under the Sofia Municipality, also known as Stolichna (capital) Municipality. It provided the school roof free of charge.

After ten years, the city administration becomes the owner of the PV system. It unveiled the project almost a year ago. Bulgarian-Austrian Consulting Co. (BACC) and the Sofia Energy Agency (SOFENA) are consultants in the endeavor.

Vitosha energy community may integrate planned PV self-consumption systems for kindergartens

As 11 more units are about to be installed in Vitosha for self-consumption for kindergartens, including them in the energy community is under consideration, the update reveals.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Energy, Electricity System Operator (ESO) and the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) agreed to introduce a solar power program for municipalities, schools, kindergartens, hospitals and small businesses, without any upfront costs. Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov said the aim was to create the largest energy community in Europe.

Gabrovo and Burgas have launched the most notable municipal energy community initiatives in Bulgaria. The concept is gaining popularity across the European Union and beyond as an essential segment of the energy transition. In addition, households, small firms and local authorities, utilities and institutions can benefit from energy sharing or becoming prosumers.

Moreover, municipal and regional administrations have the opportunity to strengthen their energy self-sufficiency and achieve savings without burdening their public finances.

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September 30, 2025
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Neptune energy confirms huge lithium carbonate reserves in Germany

Neptune Energy, a German company known for oil and gas exploration and production, obtained the country’s first lithium production license last year, and now it has confirmed resources of 43 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in the Altmark region of Saxony-Anhalt. It could reshape the outlook for battery raw material supply in Germany and Europe.

Primarily engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, Neptune Energy has been investing increasingly in low-carbon and renewable energy projects.

The company was the first in Germany to obtain a production permit for lithium. It also holds three exploration licenses for lithium in the Altmark region of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Natural gas has been produced in the Altmark region for more than half a century. Numerous old and active wells still provide access to deep underground layers including saltwater.

In November last year, Neptune Energy started a pilot project for lithium extraction from such brine with French technology partner Geolith. The company uses an environmentally friendly process known as direct lithium extraction (DLE) from brine. It involves no open pit mining, no evaporation ponds, and minimal land requirements.

The company has launched its third pilot project for direct lithium extraction from brine

In June, the company commissioned a second pilot plant, supplied by California-based Lilac Solutions, producing battery-grade lithium using an ion exchange process. The second pilot was completed in August, ahead of its original schedule to run until 2026.

A third pilot project has been underway since mid-September to evaluate an adsorption process. Subject to further mining permits, a demonstration phase with a fully integrated extraction plant will follow as the next step toward commercial production, the company said.

Altmark holds reserves of 43 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent

Neptune Energy’s initial internal estimate was that the Altmark region hosted 70 million tons of lithium carbonate, enough to extract 25,000 tons annually – sufficient for batteries for about 500,000 electric vehicles. An independent evaluation by Sproule ERCE confirmed resources of 43 million tons of LCE. Although lower than the original estimate, northern Saxony-Anhalt still hosts one of the world’s largest project-based lithium resources.

Since lithium is a key raw material for electric-vehicle batteries and energy storage, and Germany, with its strong automotive industry, currently depends on imports, information about lithium reserves in Altmark could have a significant impact on the domestic and European markets.

“This new assessment underscores the great potential of our license areas in Saxony-Anhalt. This enables us to contribute significantly to the German and European supply market for the critical raw material lithium,” said Andreas Scheck, Neptune Energy’s CEO.

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September 29, 2025
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HiTHIUM, Solarpro partner to develop long-duration energy storage in Eastern Europe

China-based HiTHIUM and Solarpro Holding have signed a 2 GWh master supply agreement for battery energy storage systems.

HiTHIUM is a global provider of long-duration energy storage (LDES) technology, while Solarpro Holding is an EPC provider of photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Europe.

The agreement will support multiple utility-scale projects across Eastern Europe, including but not limited to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and North Macedonia – which are accelerating renewable deployment as part of their energy transition strategies, according to HiTHIUM.

HiTHIUM will supply its bespoke DC block solutions

Under the agreement, HiTHIUM will supply its bespoke direct current (DC) block solutions, applying the ∞Power 6.25 MWh BESS with high-performance batteries of 1,175 Ah and 587 Ah.

The devices will be deployed exclusively in several utility-scale projects across Europe, HiTHIUM stressed.

DC block is the basic unit of a large BESS and a ready-to-deploy solution.

HiTHIUM expressed the opinion that intraday market volatility and cannibalization of photovoltaics can be addressed mostly by LDES solutions.

Li: We will deliver projects that turn renewables generation into dispatchable, flexible, and reliable resources

According to Kelson Li, HiTHIUM Europe Senior Director of Sales, Eastern Europe’s energy transformation requires energy storage solutions that go beyond short-term balancing.

“By combining HiTHIUM’s industry-leading long-duration energy storage technology with Solarpro’s deep regional experience in large-scale renewable energy integration, we will deliver projects that turn renewable generation into dispatchable, flexible, and reliable resources, advancing the region’s clean energy transition,” he underlined.

Nenov: LDES is a next critical technology upgrade of Europe’s electricity generation mix

Konstantin Nenov, Solarpro Chairman, said his company sees LDES as the next critical technology upgrade of Europe’s electricity generation mix.

“Partnering with HiTHIUM allows us to combine their advanced BESS technology with our proven track record in designing, integration and delivering complex renewable and storage projects across the region,” he stated.

HiTHIUM and Solarpro have already collaborated on landmark projects in Bulgaria and Hungary that were commissioned in 2024 and 2025.

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