The Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro has determined there is no need for an environmental impact assessment report for the second phase of the Gvozd wind farm, and allowed the project to proceed. It is for three additional wind turbines with a total capacity of 21 MW, bringing the wind farm’s overall capacity to 75.6 MW.
Within the same decision, the firm implementing the Gvozd 2 project is instructed to conduct a one-year survey of birds and bats at the project site by November 1, 2026, and to submit the findings to the Environmental Protection Agency, which reserves the right to order additional measures if necessary.
During construction, the project developers must take steps to reduce noise and use the existing road network to avoid the destruction of bird and bat habitats. It is also necessary to monitor bird nesting and take measures to protect nesting sites, while minimizing forest clearance and reducing the risk of vehicle collisions, according to the agency’s decision.
Special attention must be paid to bird and bat habitats
The second phase of the Gvozd wind farm project is financed by a EUR 25 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), signed with Montenegro’s state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG). Its subsidiary in charge of the project, Green Gvozd WPP Second Phase, is registered in Podgorica.
Once completed, Gvozd will be the largest of Montenegro’s three wind farms, with a capacity to generate over 210 GWh of electricity annually. It would be enough to supply around 36,000 households, with CO₂ emissions expected to be reduced by nearly 137,000 tons per year, EPCG said after signing the loan agreement.
The first phase should be completed by the end of this year, and the entire project before the end of 2026
The first phase of Gvozd will have eight wind turbines with a total capacity of 54.6 MW. Construction began in November 2024. EPCG expects the plant to be put into trial operation by the end of this year. Its annual electricity output is estimated at 150 GWh.
EBRD financed the first phase as well, with an EUR 82 million loan. Gvozd will be EPCG’s first large-scale power generation facility built in more than 40 years.
The EBRD previously announced that all 75.6 MW should be online before the end of 2026.
Reliance on a single source or supplier is a risk of the past – the future belongs to diversified, sustainable, and safe energy solutions, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia Sanja Božinovska said at the opening of the 14th International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development in Skopje.
The three-day International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development (IFESD-14), with the theme From Goals to Action: Powering the Future with Sustainable Energy, gathered more than 500 participants from more than 70 countries, including high-level representatives of international institutions, companies, as well as academics and experts.
The meeting is 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.
The Skopje Declaration will be signed at the forum. The document will remain as an important permanent record of the commitment of the participating countries to a sustainable, safe, and inclusive energy future, according to the ministry.
Sanja Božinovska, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, underlined that North Macedonia would be the center of the global energy dialogue for the next three days.
Božinovska: Energy transition is not a race between countries
Energy resilience today is the ability of the system to withstand, adapt, and continue to function stably even in conditions of global uncertainty and geopolitical upheaval, she said.
“In this new era, technology and artificial intelligence are our allies, not a threat. They can help us forecast demand, optimize consumption, and improve energy accessibility. But energy must be used wisely, focusing on people, not just machines,” Božinovska stated.
Sanja Božinovska (photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources)
Energy transition is not a race between countries but a shared journey, in the minister’s view. No country, regardless of size, can handle climate challenges alone, she added.
“Our role, as ministers and leaders, is to create conditions for this transition to be fair, sustainable, and inclusive and to ensure that no one is left behind; no country, no community,” Božinovska stressed.
The actions of the Government of North Macedonia confirm the stance, she asserted and highlighted the construction of natural gas interconnectors with Greece and Serbia. The investment will enable supplying thousands of households and businesses and help Europe achieve better connectivity and security of gas supply, she explained.
Grid modernization and investments in digitalization and energy storage are the country’s policy as well, she added.
Mickoski: Energy is high on the government’s agenda
Hristijan Mickoski (photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources)
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickovski said the forum is an opportunity for North Macedonia to show that a small country can have a big impact – when it has a clear vision, determination, and leadership.
He highlighted the role and vision of Minister Božinovska, saying she is determined to move things forward even in the short term, to accelerate processes and not let Macedonia fall behind in the race against time.
“As someone who comes from the energy sector, I know very well how important that feeling of constant movement, change, and responsibility is. That’s why energy is high on the government agenda – not as a technical matter, but as a national priority and state strategy,” he asserted.
Every solar panel, every wind farm, every new power plant fueled by clean energy – this is part of the modern struggle for the independence of North Macedonia, he explained.
“Our vision is clear: to prepare the country for the future – for climate challenges, technological changes and global risks. To make an example in the region of a stable, clean and independent energy economy,” Mickoski said.
Molcean: The forum has developed into a leading global platform for the promotion of sustainable energy
Tatiana Molcean, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), pointed out that the forum, which was launched in 2010, has evolved into a leading global platform for advancing sustainable energy.
“Today, we stand at a crossroads when it comes to multilateralism in energy. The global energy transition represents not only a historic opportunity for sustainable development but also a profound responsibility. We must build resilient energy systems that ensure a secure, affordable, and environmentally sustainable supply of energy,” she stressed and added: “None of us will succeed if we work in isolation.”
Tatiana Molcean (photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources)
UNECE is here together with other UN partners to help make energy not only a driver of just transition and economic growth, but also a catalyst for sustainability and resilience, Molcean told the audience.
In the view of Resident Representative of UNDP in North Macedonia Armen Grigoryan, the forum’s theme, From Goals to Action: Powering the Future with Sustainable Energy, reflects urgency and growing consensus among nations that sustainable energy solutions are urgent.
Grigoryan: We have to move from commitments to concrete implementation
“Now we have to move from commitments to concrete implementation and steps. Sustainable energy stands as a cornerstone of our collective sustainable future. Around the world, the UNDP programme is deeply engaged in advancing this agenda,” he stressed.
Grigoryan recalled that the work of UNDP in North Macedonia, but also elsewhere, through the green finance facility and tackling air pollution initiatives, is about the people.
“By helping families heat their homes with green and affordable energy, enabling businesses to invest in green solutions, we are creating healthier communities and new opportunities for growth,” he asserted.
Photo: Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources
The European Union is connecting Serbia to its energy market, and it is the true guarantee that Serbian families will be safe and warm in winter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Belgrade. She expressed preparedness to invest further in the country’s gas interconnector with Bulgaria.
In her speech during the visit to Serbia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen didn’t address the looming energy crisis caused by the sanctions that the United States imposed on Russian-owned oil company NIS. Moreover, she demanded greater alignment with the EU foreign policy from President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, including on sanctions against Russia.
“The EU membership offer is an opportunity. It is the promise of peace. Of prosperity. And of solidarity. Especially in times of crisis. You have seen this in practice,” she stated and pointed to the energy crisis of 2022.
EU showed equal solidarity with Western Balkans
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU introduced the same measures of solidarity to its Western Balkan partners as to its own member states, Von der Leyen stressed. “This is what it means to be a reliable partner. You can continue to count on us. We are connecting Serbia to the EU’s energy market. This is the true guarantee that Serbian families will be safe and warm in winter,” she stated.
The head of the 27-member bloc’s executive body pointed to ongoing investments like the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor. The mostly completed route stretches from Romania to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and its MONITA undersea link with Italy.
Von der Leyen: Collective market power to secure better energy prices
Von der Leyen highlighted the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector as well. The pipeline was completed almost two years ago. “We are prepared to invest further in it. We also invited Serbia to join the EU’s joint gas procurement mechanism. Together we are using our collective market power to secure better energy prices,” she said.
The administration in Brussels introduced the AggregateEU platform for joint procurement of gas in 2023. It expired earlier this year, but the EU is preparing another mechanism.
Serbia is planning an oil interconnector with Hungary and gas links with Romania and North Macedonia. Vučić said the upcoming winter would not be an easy one for Serbia.
Amid severe delays in projects for gas power plants, the European Commission approved Romania’s request to push back the closure of several coal-fired systems. The country is increasingly risking electricity shortages due to the lack of baseload capacity.
Romania will be able to keep three coal plants in operation until the end of 2029, following the renegotiation with the European Commission of the decarbonization calendar for electricity production, Minister of Energy Bogdan Ivan said. In a social media post, he announced that 900 MW would remain online.
Two other coal plants can operate at least until the end of August next year, Ivan revealed earlier at a press conference, where he first said the closure of 990 MW would be postponed until the end of 2029.
Turceni, Ișalnița gas power plants must be completed by 2029
State-owned Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia) remains fully active until the end of the summer, he added. “We will continue to have active coal-fired units in the city of Craiova, in order to continue to supply heat to the population, electricity, and steam to the Ford company. And those in Govora, which will produce heat for the inhabitants this winter, until the summer, when the municipality’s [Râmnicu Vâlcea] new energy system comes into operation,” the minister stated, as quoted by Profit.ro.
Romania was supposed to take 1.76 GW of coal power capacity offline at the end of this year. Ivan earlier warned of the risk of energy poverty and even blackouts. He explained that the European Commission accepted the 2029 deadline for the commissioning of CCGT (combined-cycle gas turbine) power plants in Turceni and Ișalnița.
Ivan: Romania will have 1.5 GW of coal power available in the winter season
The two new facilities of 1.33 GW would replace the coal plants in the same two towns. Their projects have suffered massive delays. Tender procedures are still ongoing for contracting the works.
Romania will have 1.5 GW of coal power available this winter, the minister claimed. In the amended National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP or PNRR), the Rovinari and Turceni coal plants in Gorj county and one in the Jiu Valley in Hunedoara remain, together with the units in Craiova and Râmnicu Vâlcea.
Deal with EU to halve estimated nominal gap in winter
In a document from the beginning of October, National Energy Dispatcher (DEN), a unit of transmission system operator Transelectrica, said it counted on 850 MW from lignite for the upcoming winter. The season lasts from November through March. It would be one unit in Turceni, of 250 MW, with another one in technical reserve, and two units of 600 MW in total in Rovinari, having a third one as backup.
The electricity production deficit in the peak evening hours would range from 1.12 GW in the moderate scenario, to a stunning 3.8 GW.
The minimum required reserve is 1,000 MW, but only 520 MW would be available, so the expected gap was actually 1.6 MW – or 4.3 GW in the pessimistic version! The report puts transmission capacity at 4.5 GW for exports and 4.2 GW for imports.
Notably, Turceni, a small town in southwestern Romania dependent on the local coal power plant, is kickstarting a EUR 380 million project. The municipal authority is turning to agrivoltaics, energy storage and green hydrogen to replace it.
RatedPower, a leading provider of software for PV plant and BESS design and engineering, has organized a webinar to present its solutions that make it faster and easier for developers and contractors to design and build PV and battery storage facilities, helping increase their efficiency and profitability. The online event included a step-by-step demonstration of how RatedPower’s cloud-based software tool creates simulations of PV plants, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and hybrid facilities to assess costs, performance, and profitability under various scenarios. The hosts also answered questions such as whether the software can be used for rooftop solar, how it accounts for terrain, what financial aspects it considers, and how user-friendly it is for non-technical staff. A recording of the webinar is available at this link.
The webinar opened with an overview of the main challenges that solar and BESS projects face in the Balkans, but also elsewhere in the world. These include a lack of collaboration between teams, difficulty finding investors for projects in the ready-to-build stage, insufficient documentation needed for permitting, lengthy manual calculations, and poor decision-making in feasibility studies.
Addressing common challenges in the Balkans
RatedPower was created precisely to address these problems, and today it provides services for a wide range of companies in the solar and BESS market, including well-known international players, it was explained at the webinar, hosted by Emil Trepin, Account Executive at RatedPower.
The company decided to expand to the Balkans because it is one of the fastest-growing regions in Europe when it comes to renewable energy projects. This, it was explained, is thanks to energy transition efforts, grid modernization, investment momentum, and state support for renewables across the region.
Much more than an engineering tool
RatedPower, part of Enverus, a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for the energy sector, offers a cloud-based tool for designing ground-mounted PV plants of 1 MW and above, and up to 3-4 GW, as well as hybrid systems (PV plus BESS) and standalone battery storage projects.
The platform creates the fastest simulations in the industry, reducing design and engineering time by up to 90%, while helping increase project profitability by about 20%. It generates over 400 pages of ready-to-use documents, including bills of quantities, single-line diagrams, business plans, and much more.
The tool reduces design and engineering time by up to 90%
RatedPower’s software is much more than an engineering tool – it is a decision-making platform that combines the simulation of technical design, energy yield, and financial analysis, according to the hosts.
A step-by-step demonstration of how the platform works
During the demonstration, Matteo Menazzi, Technical Advisor at RatedPower, explained how the platform is used in practice. Since it is cloud-based, it can be accessed from any web browser and used simultaneously by several people working on the same project or on multiple projects.
The first step is to select a location on the map, taking into account various restrictions, such as roads, forests, and archaeological sites, and then add PV arrays, BESS, and other equipment.
Equipment, such as PV modules or battery containers, is selected from a pre-filled database or uploaded manually. The software then creates a full simulation in a matter of seconds, allowing users to test different modules or equipment and compare results.
Solar modules, batteries, and other equipment can be selected from a pre-filled database
In the layout phase, users can set the distance between rows, adapt the configuration to the terrain slope, and estimate the scope and cost of necessary earthworks.
The software also allows the customization of grid connection parameters, including voltage levels and line types (underground or overhead). It then automatically estimates substation size and electrical losses, and calculates the necessary cable lengths.
It calculates the amount of electricity that can be produced and injected into the grid, as well as financial performance. In addition, a large number of documents is automatically generated – from hourly energy yield and battery performance results to lists of necessary cables, bills of quantities, and 2D and 3D drawings.
Designs can be edited and saved as templates for future projects
It is important to note that any design created with the RatedPower software can be edited by moving, adding, or removing elements. Also, all inputs can be saved as a template, which can be used for another project, saving considerable time.
Designing battery storage systems with RatedPower
When it comes to batteries, users can choose a power conversion system and battery containers from the database, define the number of BESS blocks and their layout, and adjust the distances between containers to comply with fire safety regulations. They can also customize charging and discharging efficiency and use the optimization algorithm to adjust operations for maximum profitability.
It is also possible to choose between a fixed and a variable price. For variable prices, the software will upload the day-ahead price for the relevant market or allow users to upload their own price. The tool will also recommend the most profitable time to sell electricity.
Users can also choose whether to charge the batteries only from the PV plant or from the grid as well.
The software provides project cost estimates based on standard values or the user’s input
In the financial segment, RatedPower’s software will estimate the total cost of building a PV plant or battery system, based on standard values provided by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
However, input values can also be fully customized by the user, based on the price of solar modules, BESS units, or cables.
If you want to know more about RatedPower’s software, request a demo today.
The proposed ban on importing Russian natural gas to the European Union doesn’t apply to the transit of Russian gas, so it doesn’t affect the supply of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Commission’s spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told Balkan Green Energy News.
After the Council of the European Union on Monday adopted its negotiating position on the European Commission’s draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas by January 1, 2028, reports emerged that Bulgaria would halt the transit of Russian gas to Serbia from January 1, 2026. The council agreed with the initiative to prohibit imports of Russian gas, starting on January 1, 2026, while maintaining a transition period for existing contracts.
Notably, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced in late September that his country would suspend Russian gas transit for short-term contracts in 2026 as part of EU plans to cut off Russian gas imports completely, Reuters reported.
Serbia receives natural gas from Russia via the Balkan Stream. The pipeline is an extension of TurkStream that passes through Bulgaria and Serbia. TurkStream delivers gas from Russia across the Black Sea to Turkey.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary, Serbia’s neighbors, are also supplied via Balkan Stream.
With regards to transit via EU territory, the EU proposal only requires more transparency on transited volumes to third countries
Balkan Green Energy News asked the European Commission to clarify if the supply of Russian gas to Serbia and BiH via Bulgaria would be halted as of January 1, 2026, but also how the EU could assist Serbia and BiH in that case.
The European Commission’s spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen noted that its REPowerEU proposal foresees a prohibition of the import of Russian gas into the EU.
“The EU import prohibition doesn’t concern the transit of Russian gas through the EU territory to third countries – including to Serbia and BiH. It doesn’t therefore affect Serbia’s or BiH gas supply,” she stressed.
With regards to transit via EU territory, in her words, the EU proposal only requires more transparency on transited volumes to third countries.
EU candidate countries are expected to progressively align their legislation with the EU acquis and rules
However, EU candidate countries are expected to progressively align their legislation with the EU acquis and rules as part of the accession process, Itkonen pointed out and added that it includes REPowerEU regulation once it becomes EU law.
Of note, the draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas constitutes a central element of the EU’s REPowerEU roadmap to end the EU’s dependency on Russian energy.
According to Itkonen, as a way to ensure security of supply, candidate countries including Serbia should diversify away from unreliable energy suppliers such as Russia. Following Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, it became evident how important this is and what problems it can create for any European country, she asserted.
“The EU is supporting the WB countries for diversifying their energy supplies”
Anna-Kaisa Itkonen (photo: European Commission)
“The EU is supporting the Western Balkan countries for diversifying their energy supplies and for closer integration into the EU’s energy networks, both for electricity and gas, as well as through investments in renewable energy and decarbonization efforts,” Itkonen underlined.
After energy ministers in the Council of the EU have agreed on the institution’s negotiating position on the European Commission’s draft regulation, the next step is the adoption of the European Parliament’s position.
The council and the parliament would then start negotiations on the regulation. When the two institutions approve a regulation, it directly applies to all member states.
The meeting of the so-called Energy Council highlighted several issues and concerns among EU member states about the proposed ban on Russian natural gas.
