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July 9, 2025
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WindEurope seeks next CEO as Giles Dickson to depart

Chief Executive Officer of WindEurope Giles Dickson has decided to step down after 10 years, to become a school teacher. The Board of Directors of WindEurope has initiated the process of finding his successor.

Giles Dickson has been instrumental in the expansion of wind energy in Europe – onshore and offshore – and played a key role in the development of Europe’s ambitious renewable energy plans, the organization said. The board established a nomination committee to find the new CEO. The current chief executive of WindEurope is remaining in his post throughout this process, until he steps down during the second half of 2025, the update adds.

“I’m incredibly proud of the progress wind energy has made in Europe in the past 10 years. I thank everyone at WindEurope for their engagement and support and the many people who have helped take wind energy forward during my tenure. Having spent most of my working life outside the UK, I look forward to going home and trying to put something back into the society I came from. But wind is a fantastic industry that it is a privilege to serve,” Giles Dickson said.

The number of jobs in the wind industry is expected to reach 600,000 in 2030

Chair of the Board of Directors Henrik Andersen praised the outgoing CEO for his contribution to WindEurope and the expansion of wind across the continent.

“It is a testament to Giles’ passion for and dedication to the energy transition that he will now help ensure a smooth succession and leave a stronger WindEurope than when he arrived. Europe is facing a generational challenge of becoming competitive and secure again, which wind energy plays a key role in, and I’m therefore very pleased we’ll have a wind energy champion like Giles to educate our future generations,” he stated.

Wind energy accounts for 20% of the electricity Europe consumes, and thanks to wind, the European Union avoids 100 billion cubic meters of fossil fuel imports, WindEurope pointed out.

The industry provides 370,000 jobs and the number is projected to reach 600,000 in 2030. The wind power sector contributes EUR 52 billion to Europe’s gross domestic product, the organization added. On average, each new wind turbine adds EUR 16 million to the European economy and the industry’s 250+ factories are all over Europe, including in economically-deprived regions, it stressed.

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July 9, 2025
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Market assessment underway for expansion of gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria

The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) natural gas pipeline is planned to be expanded to five billion cubic meters per year from three billion. The non-binding assessment phase is underway.

ICGB, the operator of the IGB interconnection, targets an expansion in technical annual capacity to five billion cubic meters per year from the current three billion. The company launched the non-binding phase of a process to assess market interest.

The procedure is conducted under Regulation (EU) 2017/459 (NC CAM), the network code on capacity allocation mechanisms for the sector. It marks a key step toward reinforcing long-term energy security in the region, ICGB pointed out.

Interested market participants are invited to submit their non-binding demand indications by September 1. All relevant documents and participation guidelines are available at ICGB’s public consultations page.

The market demand assessment also includes a binding phase, to determine the feasibility of the potential capacity increase. The process is being carried out in close coordination with adjacent gas transmission system operators (TSOs), according to the company.

Expanding IGB’s capacity is a strategic move for the entire region, the heads of ICGB pointed out

Expanding IGB’s capacity is a strategic move for the entire region, said ICGB’s executive officers George Satlas and Teodora Georgieva. “As the first route for diversified natural gas supplies to Bulgaria, IGB plays a critical role in ensuring secure, sustainable energy for Southeast Europe. We remain firmly committed to this process and to delivering enhanced connectivity and resilience across the region with our partners,” they added.

Following the current phase, ICGB and adjacent TSOs need to compile demand assessment reports for each interconnection point. They would form the basis for possible future steps, including project proposals, consultations and regulatory approval, the announcement reads.

Serbia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia largely depend on Russian gas, delivered through the TurkStream and Balkan Stream pipeline corridor. IGB and the Serbia-Bulgaria interconnector enable access to Azerbaijani gas and Greece’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.

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July 9, 2025
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Simtel to install BESS for Güriş in Romania

Romanian engineering and technology company Simtel will install a battery energy storage system in Romania for Turkey-based Güriş.

With a storage capacity of up to 196.4 MWh and an installed power of up to 98.6 MW, it would be one of the largest battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Romania.

Simtel said it signed an engineering, procurement, and construction contract with Energy Capital Group, owned by Mogan Bucharest SRL, part of the Güriş Group from Turkey.

The contract is worth RON 168.9 million (EUR 33.3 million), and the deadline is nine months.

The contract includes the supply of a BESS, the design, construction, installation, commissioning, completion, and testing of the facility. The project will be implemented in the village of Iaz, Obreja commune, Caraș-Severin county.

Energy Capital Group obtained support via the National Recovery and Resilience Plan

Energy Capital Group received support via the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) for its project. It is part of the pillar dedicated to the green transition. Romania approved a grant of over RON 50 million (EUR 9.86 million) for the implementation of the battery energy storage project.

With the investment, Romania is taking a significant step towards strengthening its energy infrastructure and increasing flexibility in consumption and production, according to Simtel COE Mihai Tudor. Storage systems are an essential pillar of the energy transition process and in the sustainable development of power grids, he added.

Director of Mogan Bucharest SRL Kaan Yamantürk said the company sees “a great future and opportunity” in Romania.

Güriş is active elsewhere in Southeastern Europe as well.

Simtel: The largest storage project has a capacity of 72 MWh

Simtel pointed out that the size of the facility is significant, considering that, according to the latest data published by Transelectrica, the current total battery energy storage capacity in Romania is 398.8 MWh.

Moreover, the largest storage project completed so far has a maximum capacity of 72 MWh, the firm added.

Of note, in October last year, Monsson said it was completing the second phase of a battery energy storage system within a hybrid power plant project in Constanța. The first phase was inaugurated in April and, with 24 MWh, it was the largest BESS unit in Romania at the time.

A subsidiary of Monsson has submitted a battery storage project of just over 2 GWh in capacity for an environmental permit in Romania. Simtel and Monsson have signed a strategic partnership on the development of solar and energy storage projects in Romania.

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July 9, 2025
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Serbia’s electricity imports up 15% in 2024

Electricity consumption by end consumers in Serbia increased 2.7% last year, while production decreased 6.7%, according to the 2024 annual report of the Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia. Higher consumption and lower production led to a 15% rise in imports.

Excluding the use of electricity in power plants for production purposes, consumption by end consumers in 2024 amounted to 30.8 TWh or 0.8 TWh more than in the previous year.

Household consumption increased by 1.7%, while the other consumers connected to the low-voltage system added 2.4%. The medium-voltage segment grew 5% year on year, and the growth among high-voltage customers was 1.6%, the Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia, or AERS, said.

Hydropower production dropped nearly 17%

Total production in all power plants in Serbia in 2024 was 35,171 GWh. Coal-fired facilities accounted for 60.49%, compared to the 29.74% share of hydropower plants. Combined heat and power plants participated with 4.75%. Wind farms attributed 3.8%, followed by solar power plants, 0.25%, and biomass and biogas plants, 0.86%.

Coal power plants generated 1.2% less electricity than in 2023. The CHP item decreased by 7.6%, and output by hydropower plants connected to the transmission system dropped by 16.8%. Wind farms on the high-voltage network produced 26.3% more on an annual basis.

EPS’s production decreased while wind power output surged

In 2024, the facilities of state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) generated 32.9 TWh or 2.7 TWh less than in 2023. AERS noted EPS’s peak production in the past ten-year period was 35.5 TWh, in 2023. Put together, all others are increasing output year after year.

They include power plants connected to the distribution grid. There were 413 of them in total in 2024 and they produced around 991 GWh of electricity.

Wind farms increased production by a quarter

There are six wind farms connected to the transmission network, and two cogeneration or CHP plants: Pančevo and Vinča.

The wind segment contributed 1,243 GWh, about 26% more than in 2023. The Pančevo gas-fired CHP and Vinča waste-to-energy CHP together generated 1,116 GWh in 2024, the report reads.

Rise in imports and decline in exports

In 2024, electricity imports were 8.5% or 563 GWh higher than exports.

Imports totaled 7.2 TWh, which is 15% or 1.1 TWh more than the year before. Exports were 6.6 TWh or 1.4 TWh less than in 2023.

Exporting in the winter, importing in the summer

According to AERS, both exports and imports were significant throughout the year. Favorable hydrological conditions and a relatively mild winter allowed exports to exceed imports in the first quarter.

However, an exceptionally hot summer led to substantial imports, with monthly quantities exceeding 0.8 TWh both in July and August.

The highest monthly electricity imports, over 0.9 TWh, were registered in December 2024, according to the AERS report.

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July 8, 2025
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Montenegro’s EPCG to take out EUR 50 million loan

Montenegro’s power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore will take out a loan of EUR 50 million to purchase electricity to supply consumers in the country.

The Government of Montenegro, upon the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, has issued an approval for Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) to borrow EUR 50 million from Erste Bank to finance the purchase of the lacking quantities of electricity.

The loan is necessary to ensure the continuity of electricity supply while the Pljevlja thermal power plant is offline due to the ongoing ecological reconstruction project, the government said.

The investment aims to bring the power plant’s operation in line with EU emission standards

The works at Montenegro’s only coal-fired facility began in April 2022, and it has been offline since the end of March this year. The plant, which accounts for 40% of domestic electricity production, is scheduled to return to operations after seven and a half months. The investment is intended to reduce its emissions to align them with the European Union’s standards.

EPCG previously announced that it had already purchased about 75% of the electricity it required – 600 GWh, for which it paid around EUR 60 million. The remaining quantities needed for the third quarter, approximately 200 GWh, are planned to be purchased during the second quarter, the company said.

The company’s request was supported by the Ministry of Finance

According to the government’s new decision, the Ministry of Finance supported EPCG’s request.

It noted that EPCG achieved a net profit of EUR 10.2 million in 2024, which is 80.51%, or EUR 42.2 million, lower than in 2023, when it amounted to EUR 52.5 million. The projected profit for 2024 was EUR 3.4 million, the ministry recalled.

Of note, the company recently said it planned to take out a EUR 25.6 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to finance the second phase of the Gvozd wind farm project.

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July 8, 2025
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Bulgaria’s TPP Maritsa East 2 coal plant posts EUR 52 million loss for 2024

Even with a quota for the regulated electricity market in Bulgaria, low electricity prices pushed TPP Maritsa East 2 into a loss last year. It is the only state-owned coal power plant.

The financial report for 2024 showed a loss of EUR 52 million for TPP Maritsa East 2 (Maritsa-iztok 2), Kapital reported. It compares to a modest net income of EUR 29 million achieved one year earlier. Notably, the subsidiary of state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) had a record profit of some EUR 600 million in 2022, during the energy crisis.

Operating income plunged almost 15% to EUR 614 million last year. The only government-controlled coal power plant sold more electricity than in 2023, but at lower prices.

Moreover, liabilities surged to EUR 358 million from EUR 127 million, mainly due to greenhouse gas emission certificates. The gap between liabilities and assets reached EUR 1.18 billion, against EUR 920 million one year before, the report reads.

Regulated market keeps Maritsa East 2 afloat

Interestingly, almost 86% of the output was sold on the regulated electricity market, which covers households. For the past few years, TPP Maritsa East 2 has been operating under a quota determined by the Ministry of Energy, even though it doesn’t have the right, in principle, to work for the regulated market, the article notes.

Even with the market liberalization that was introduced on July 1, the facility keeps supplying households, the news outlet added. It was enabled through a new segment at the electricity exchange, for long-term contracts, with so-called non-standard products. They are intended for all sellers, but in practice the sellers are state-owned power plants: Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, TPP Maritsa East 2 and National Electricity Co.’s hydroelectric facilities.

It means the coal plant’s high production costs are passed on to household bills. It has 1.62 GW in nominal capacity, but it is utilizing much less. The enterprise sold 605 GWh in the open market and 3.23 TWh in the regulated market in 2024.

Coal plants failing to maintain competitiveness throughout EU

Slovakia and Spain officially intend to exit coal this year, followed by Greece (2026), France and Hungary (2027) and Denmark and Italy (2028). However, the dates could be pushed forward and there is a possibility that more countries will join the group in the meantime.

Several of the remaining facilities in the European Union and beyond are active just sporadically – in islands or to cover winter peaks or only until the district heating systems that they supply switch to cleaner sources.

Coal power is already uncompetitive most of the time, particularly because of emission costs. In addition, when such facilities are idle, their costs rise further because of salaries and the complex logistics, primarily mining operations. Other coal plants in Bulgaria are also affected.

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