Representatives of distribution system operators (DSOs) from Albania, Kosovo*, and Montenegro, partners in the GIZ project Green Agenda – Decarbonization of the Electricity Sector in the Western Balkans, took an active part in the 10th Annual Global Outage Management Forum for DSOs, held in Berlin. The event brought together DSOs, experts, and innovators to address the pressing challenges of ensuring grid stability while navigating regulatory, technological, and environmental transformations.
The two-day event featured engaging discussions on a wide range of critical topics related to outage management and the future of electricity distribution. One key issue was the integration of electricity generated by prosumers into the low-voltage grid. Participants explored innovative methods for managing outages more efficiently and enhancing the overall resilience of the grid.
The forum also addressed the evolution of electricity distribution networks and their importance in ensuring supply security, especially given the increasing demand and the rise of distributed generation. Another significant topic was the implementation of Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS).
Discussions covered the transition toward automated fault management and the development of digital substations. Additionally, participants examined how environmental factors, such as changes in groundwater levels, can impact the reliability of medium-voltage networks.
Workshop on DSO Roadmaps
The project partners also took part in a half-day workshop focusing on the topic of DSO Roadmaps. The purpose of a DSO Roadmap is to outline the strategic direction and actions required to modernize the distribution network, integrate renewable energy sources, enhance grid reliability, and support the overall energy transition in the Western Balkans. It aims to provide a clear pathway for DSOs to adapt to changing energy landscapes, regulatory requirements, and technological advancements.
Photo: GIZ
“We used the workshop in Berlin with the DSO representatives to introduce State of the Art on DSO-Roadmapping and sound primary results for Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro, which were mainly based on a pre-assessment of items based on the ETI of the World Economic Forum, which we used as a Strategic Reference Framework”, said Dr. Marcus Merkel, Senior Strategy Manager at EWE AG.
“Furthermore, we introduced a PESTEL-Methodology to jointly identify further items, which we are now transferring together with more than 500 items identified in the reports of the Energy Community, IEA, ACER, DSO Entity (DSO Vision), EDSO for Smart Grids (Technology Radar) and results from our Questionnaire as well as other Best Practices in the final Draft of the DSO Roadmap. We will present preliminary results and an implementation proposal towards the Energy Community in June and further sound the results with DSOs by July 2025,” he added.
Photo: GIZ
Rodon Miraj, Energy Advisor at GIZ, emphasized the vital role of distribution system operators in driving the energy transition at the local level. He noted that the capillary grid managed by DSOs represents the first line of distributed decarbonization efforts, enabling end-consumers to participate through technologies like prosumption and battery storage.
Miraj highlighted the responsibility of DSOs in the Western Balkans for creating the necessary technical and administrative conditions for these innovations to take root quickly.
“GIZ’s Decarbonization Project is supporting all distributors of the region to plan and have a clear roadmap towards established and new goals for 2030 and beyond. DSO roadmaps can be the missing link that connects the high-level Vision, Mission, and Target set by DSOs to the immediate implementation and budgeting efforts,” he said.
He described the Berlin workshop and participation in the Global Forum as a valuable opportunity for Western Balkan DSOs to collaborate on roadmap development and engage directly with leading industry experts.
TE-TOL, the main district heating provider in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, has taken over a newly built gas-steam unit, reducing the share of coal in heat generation to 20% and marking another step toward a complete coal phaseout in the country.
Slovenia’s official deadline for abandoning coal is 2033, although there are indications it might happen much sooner. In a step seen as the beginning of the country’s coal phaseout, the Government of Slovenia decided in December to provide EUR 403 million to save the Šoštanj coal power plant and coal mine Velenje from bankruptcy, announcing it would take over both entities from state-owned power utility Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE).
Over the weekend, Srečko Trunkelj, deputy CEO of Energetika Ljubljana, a state-controlled energy company that operates TE-TOL, explained that heat production at the plant was previously based on 65% coal, 19% natural gas, and 16% wood biomass. “This structure has changed significantly, as we now use 20% coal, 60% natural gas, and 20% wood biomass,” Trunkelj said at a conference on Sunday, the Naš stik magazine reported.
The share of coal in heat production at TE-TOL has now dropped from 65% to 20%
Last week, the Greek contractor handed over the management of the new gas-steam unit to TE-TOL. “The […] plant is now under our management, with a three-year warranty period,” Energetika Ljubljana explained.
The new unit, called PPE-TOL, comprises two gas turbines, each with a nominal electrical power of 57 MW, and one steam turbine with 42 MW of nominal power. Officially, the facilities are still in a trial operation period until the company obtains a use permit. The new gas-steam unit is expected to begin regular operation in the coming heating season.
The new unit will also boost TE-TOL’s electricity output
The new unit will also enable TE-TOL to boost its electricity generation, making it the third-largest power producer in the country. It will provide around 8% of the country’s total electricity supply, Energetika CEO Samo Lozej said earlier. Its output should be enough to supply 600,000 households.
Energetika Ljubljana operates the largest district heating network in Slovenia, supplying heat to about 60,000 homes, and is also a major player in the natural gas retail market, according to Slovenian media.
Montenegro, Serbia, and the Republic of Srpska don’t have a problem attracting investments in electricity production, but they do have issues when it comes to investments in transmission networks. If the introduction of CBAM is not postponed, it will greatly burden their economies. Hungary is interested in strengthening energy ties with them as well as the rest of the Western Balkans, which would bolster energy security for the whole region. Croatia could also assist it in strengthening employment in the green technologies sector, to counter the loss of jobs due to decarbonization. These are the main messages from the High-ministerial panel on SEE regional cooperation and energy transition strategies.
The ministerial panel was the first of eight at this year’s Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 (BEF 2025). The conference, organized by Balkan Green Energy News, welcomed four hundred participants from more than 30 countries from the region, Europe, and beyond.
The panel featured representatives of the governments of Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary, the Republic of Srpska – one of the two political entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Serbia, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The moderator of the panel was Dirk Buschle, who until recently was a key figure in the Energy Community Secretariat, and now is a partner at law firm Becker Büttner Held.
He noted it is a mistake to say that the contracting parties of the Energy Community are lagging behind EU countries in the energy transition. They all face the same issues, which are energy accessibility, supply security, and sustainability, Buschle added.
Additional proof, in his words, are the similar issues faced by investors – in grid connections and permitting.
Investments in production are coming, the issues are grids, CBAM
Dirk Buschle, Petar Đokić and Admir Šahmanović
According to Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska Petar Đokić, the entity has made significant progress in defining a regulatory framework that aligns with the rules of the Energy Community and the European Union.
He noted that with the help of the Energy Community Secretariat, the two entities of BiH recently reached an agreement on adopting a law on the electricity regulator, transmission, and market. It is one of the cornerstones for establishing an organized electricity market.
The Republic of Srpska was successful in attracting investments in green energy in recent years, Đokić added. It established concessions and partnerships for the construction of 2,200 MW of renewable energy power plants – wind, solar, and hydropower.
However, large investments in transmission networks are also necessary, he pointed out and said he expects assistance from the European Union’s financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as the World Bank.
Đokić: CBAM to hit hard BiH’s economy
The minister called on them to set up such partnerships.
Regarding the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), he said that measures have been taken to change the domestic energy mix. Until recently, the share of fossil fuels was 62%, but it has now dropped to 54%, he recalled.
By 2028, the Republic of Srpska will have two new hydropower plants, of 159 MW and 36 MW, and new solar power plants with a total capacity of 250 MW, the minister asserted. It would additionally green the energy mix, Đokić said.
CBAM, in his words, could harm the economy of the Republic of Srpska and BiH.
If it is applied the way it is apparently envisaged, it would result in a significant increase in costs, with a severe negative impact, he underlined. Đoković expressed hope that the rollout would be separately discussed in the case of BiH.
Šahmanović: Montenegro is finishing its NECP
Montenegro also enjoys great interest from investors. It has received applications for building solar power plants and wind farms with a total capacity of 5.5 GW, said Admir Šahmanović, Minister of Energy and Mining.
The country’s current capacity is slightly over 1 GW.
It is, in his words, the result of improving the regulatory framework including the adoption of laws on renewable energy sources and energy. However, investment in the transmission grid is also necessary. The government plans to discuss with Italy the possibility of installing another subsea cable for electricity transmission, while the national energy and climate plan (NECP) will be completed by the end of next month, the minister revealed.
Montenegro is requesting a postponement of CBAM until 2030
In addition, renewable energy auctions are being prepared with the EBRD, and a memorandum on market coupling with Italy will be signed, he added.
As for CBAM, the minister stressed that Montenegro doesn’t believe the EU wants to harm its economy, but argued that the country isn’t ready for the mechanism’s implementation.
“Perhaps we are now in a situation similar to where our EU partners were 20 years ago. So, we need to invest a lot in our production capacities, grid, storage. It will take years, so if we don’t receive an exemption by 2030, I believe we won’t be able to handle this challenge,” Šahmanović stressed.
Secure supply of the national market is the highest priority
Boglárka Illés, Admir Šahmanović and Jovana Joksimović
Jovana Joksimović, Serbian assistant minister of mining and energy for international cooperation, European integration, and project management, expressed the opinion that the energy transition is a long and intensive process, technically, operationally, and financially.
Since October 2022, renewable energy in the energy mix has increased by 83%, which demonstrates the progress of the energy transition in Serbia, Joksimović asserted.
“We need to be realistic, as well as socially aware, because a fair and sustainable transition is something that should be carefully considered when changing the energy mix, where coal accounts for 60%,” she noted.
Joksimović: The priority is to ensure a sufficient supply of electricity at the most affordable prices for citizens and the economy
It is necessary, in her words, to be ambitious and dedicated to the energy transition goals, but she is convinced that there is a higher objective.
At the country level, it is to ensure enough electricity at the most affordable prices for both citizens and the economy, she underlined. “That’s what our top priority is,” Joksimović underscored.
Guided by the said goal, Serbia is also considering the use of nuclear energy and a study on possible options is currently being prepared.
Boglárka Illés, State Secretary for Bilateral Relations at Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, also stressed that the government’s primary duty is to ensure not only climate neutrality and sustainable energy but also affordable energy with a stable supply for households and businesses.
She pointed out that diversifying energy imports and the energy mix plays a key role in securing energy sovereignty. It is the reason why cooperation with the Western Balkans, and especially Serbia, is important to Hungary, Illés asserted.
Illés: Europe’s energy security has been demolished
A few days before, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the EU has abandoned a successful economic strategy, based on cheap Russian gas and advanced German technology.
“And now we don’t see any other strategy within the EU,” she stated.
Due to ideologically driven sanctions against Russia, and the European Green Deal, the energy security of Europe is demolished, in Illés’s opinion. The region is located at the intersection of essential energy routes, connecting the East and the West, and also South and North, she underlined.
“We, as an EU member country, can act as a bridge between non-EU member countries and also the EU,” the state secretary stressed.
As an example of good cooperation with Serbia, she highlighted the supply of gas through the TurkStream pipeline and the Pannonian Corridor project for doubling the capacity for power exchange between the two countries.
The energy transition is an opportunity
Jovana Joksimović, Marija Pujo Tadić and Dario Liguti
In one respect, Marija Pujo Tadić, Special Envoy for Climate Action from the Government of Croatia, doesn’t share the opinion of the Hungarian official. She argued it isn’t true that Europe lacks a plan.
The EU has a clear plan and a well-defined strategy – it is the Clean Industrial Deal, she stressed.
She highlighted two important strategies relevant to the region: the Paris Agreement and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.
As a member of the scientific advisory board for the COP 29 presidency, she recalled that this year a review of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) would be conducted. It is an assessment of how countries are meeting their plans for lowering CO2 emissions.
Pujo Tadić: Education and workforce specialization are essential
She underlined the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans also envisages reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, which is essentially the shared goal of the EU.
However, Pujo Tadić expressed the belief that policies and laws alone are not enough. Public education and workforce specialization are also necessary because the transition will create many new jobs, she added.
Croatia could be of great support to the Western Balkans, having launched such educational programs five years ago, according to Pujo Tadić.
The link between the energy transition and the creation of new jobs was also stressed by Dario Liguti, Director of Sustainable Energy at UNECE. In his view, the region has a huge opportunity to become part of the supply chains for green technologies by greening the domestic power generation and by leaning on the EU’s energy transition.
He sees the main factors for it in the region’s geographic proximity to the large European market, and the large, skilled workforce that can be educated for other tasks. Liguti drew a connection with the expected job loss from decarbonization measures and the related need for a just transition.
Liguti: There is great potential for energy efficiency in the region
Liguti praised the forthcoming investments in renewable energy production, but warned it is only one side of the story, arguing that the other one is energy efficiency. He reminded the audience that the region’s energy intensity is high, saying there is room for savings.
The installation of big solar plants and wind farms, in his words, is great because it’s very visible.
“It’s a great investment and makes a lot of sense. The harder part is making energy efficiency investments, whether in buildings or the industrial processes in large, small, or medium enterprises,” Liguti stated.
As an example, he recalled that UNECE is running a project with the EBRD in North Macedonia to support households and small and medium enterprises to lower the costs of liquid fuels and electricity.
Norway’s Equinor is resuming construction on its Empire Wind project off the coast of New York after the federal authorities lifted a stop-work order issued in mid-April. The project’s first phase, the 810 MW Empire Wind 1, is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the needs of 500,000 homes in the US state.
The construction of Empire Wind 1, the first offshore wind project to feed directly into New York’s power grid, began on April 1. However, the United States Department of the Interior, through its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), ordered the work to stop on April 16, pending the completion of a review.
On May 20, Equinor said its subsidiary Empire Offshore Wind has been informed by BOEM that the stop-work order had been lifted, allowing construction activities to resume.
“We appreciate the fact that construction can now resume on Empire Wind, a project which underscores our commitment to deliver energy while supporting local economies and creating jobs,” stated Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor.
Commercial operation is planned for 2027
In a press release, the company majority-owned by the Government of Norway, explained that Empire Offshore Wind aims to be able to execute planned activities in the offshore installation window in 2025 and reach its planned commercial operation date in 2027, adding that the project is currently more than 30% complete.
The project’s second phase is planned to have 1,260 MW in capacity.
Since the early 2000s, the company has invested about USD 60 billion in energy projects in the United States, mainly in oil and gas, and more recently in low-carbon solutions, critical minerals, and renewables, reads the press release.
The Ministry of Energy of Romania launched a public call for expressions of interest for a study identifying areas in the Black Sea for concession agreements for offshore wind farms. It encouraged consortia of international and domestic firms and research institutions to apply.
Romania is gradually developing the legal framework for the start of the first offshore wind power projects in domestic waters in the Black Sea. Qualified companies and research institutions can express interest in conducting the necessary Specialized Study for the Delimitation of Offshore Areas that Can Be Concessioned for the Exploration, Construction, and Operation of Offshore Wind Power Plants, the Ministry 0f Energy said.
The country adopted the relevant law last year, followed by a roadmap.
“The study we are preparing will form the basis of strategic decisions on the concession of offshore perimeters and will provide investors with a clear vision, scientifically substantiated and in line with international best practices,” Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja said. Interested entities can submit their expressions of interest by email by June 10.
Study to determine areas with offshore wind power potential of at least 800 MW each
The ministry said consortia of international and domestic firms are encouraged to apply. The World Bank estimated Romania’s wind power potential in the Black Sea at 76 GW.
The Energy Strategy 2025-2035 with a perspective until 2050 targets the first 3 GW by 2035, the announcement notes. Burduja said a year ago that the first facility could come online already in 2032.
Areas or perimeters will have a potential capacity of at least 800 MW each, according to the call. The study needs to establish the technical and strategic basis for the development of offshore wind farms in Romania’s Black Sea Exclusive Economic Zone.
Best practices, standardized methodology required
The task involves wind potential analysis, geotechnical and seabed studies, biodiversity and marine environment assessment and the connectivity to the national energy system. In the study, the selected contractor must include commercial navigation routes, fishing areas, existing submarine cables and pipelines, oil and gas exploration and production areas, military or national security zones and other
maritime uses and restrictions that may interfere with offshore wind development.
The work should be based on best practices and standardized methodology, the ministry pointed out. It said the offshore wind study implies collection and analysis of available metocean, geological, ecological, infrastructure and other data, use of GIS systems to overlay information layers (wind, depths, habitats and constraints), and modelling and calculations of estimated energy production.
By Heike Winkler,EUSEW’s digital ambassador on how fair tendering and sustainability in offshore wind can drive competitiveness and a just energy transition.
We are transitioning from an economy based on fossil energy to an economy based on renewable resources. What could be more obvious than for us to support this development and strengthen our renewable industries, the maritime industry, the circular economy, and the green steel industry? The motto of EUSEW 2025, ‘Powering a fair and competitive green transition’, fits perfectly with the European offshore wind industry.
The motto of this year’s WindEurope Annual Event 2025, which has just taken place in Copenhagen, was ‘Scale up, Electrify, Deliver – Putting wind at the heart of Europe’s competitiveness.’ At the recent WindEurope conference, the offshore wind industry jointly proposed a new Offshore Wind Deal to European governments in order to achieve Europe’s ambitious expansion targets. Resilience and sustainability require close cooperation between business and politics to successfully meet the challenges of the ongoing transformation. Sufficient volume and stable supply chain expansion paths are crucial.
Sustainability requires resilience
For more than two decades, the offshore wind industry has been characterised by an impressively fast-growing know-how, a strong resilience, remarkable innovative power and harmonious synergies from various European industries.
A considerable reduction in the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of offshore wind energy has been achieved to date, more than the fossil industry has ever had to achieve. This development resulted in permanent cost pressure, which harms the sector.
Decarbonisation of the offshore wind industry itself has been part of the industrialisation process from the very beginning. A current example is the Nordlicht 1 and 2 project in the German North Sea, where a major reduction in CO2 steel emissions is expected to be realised (i.e. by using steel towers).
Level playing field and competitiveness
The level playing field has been repeatedly called into question in recent years due to competitive distortions and discontinuities, e.g. with the thread break (‘Fadenriss’) in Germany starting in 2016, when no more new offshore wind projects were put out to tender, or more recently with the construction stop in the USA. In Germany, many companies went out of business, a lot of experience was lost, thousands of employees lost their jobs and their experience was also lost to the industry. With the current geopolitical uncertainties, particularly regarding energy supply, the sector’s resilience is crucial.
With a level playing field and a robust expansion path, the wind industry would have grown significantly faster.
Net Zero Industry Act and qualitative criteria in tendering processes
At the same time, in line with the Draghi Report on EU competitiveness, the Clean Industrial Deal, together with the Net Zero Industry Act, European competitiveness requires accelerating re-industrialisation and the transformation of energy-intensive companies.
Industrial resilience and sustainability require close cooperation between business and policy, where better procurement practices can advance European interests in the wind sector. For example, the carbon footprint tender criterion should be applied in more than 50% of the coming renewable energy tenders. This is critically important, as it could increase the likelihood of realisation, resilience, while at the same time enhancing the market readiness of European renewable energy industries and thus Europe’s competitiveness.
Every long transport route increases the carbon footprint and reduces the added value of the project in general and where it is to be installed. The EU developed a consultation process to strengthen the net-zero industries, which includes auctions for renewable energies and an implementing law on non-price criteria. The results are currently eagerly awaited.
‘In order to reach a sustainable energy transition that creates added value for European industry, there is no alternative to a sustainable, resilient (2in1) domestic offshore wind supply chain. The carbon footprint criterion in offshore wind tenders is crucial if the transformation of the energy-intensive industry is to deliver climate protection, energy sovereignty and industrial growth at the same time.’ There will be no cost-efficient sustainable energy system in Europe without offshore wind energy.
This opinion editorial is produced in co-operation with the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2025. See ec.europa.eu/eusew for more details.
