Large Greek companies, interested in the construction and operation of waste incinerators producing electricity and heat, are waiting for the government to complete the legal framework and launch tenders. Without the six planned facilities and accompanying infrastructure, the country would substantially lag behind the European Union’s targets for lowering the share of landfilled material. Greece […]
In its new guidelines for the just transition, the Energy Community Secretariat highlighted the lack of policies and measures in its contracting parties in the Western Balkans. The concept implies incorporating a people-centred and regionally tailored approach, in national energy and climate planning, to phasing out fossil fuels while providing targeted support to those most […]
Energy transition in Southeastern Europe is accelerating, and the progress depends on individual countries’ strategies and legal frameworks. At the Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025), representatives of state-owned power utilities and private producers discussed the different approaches to decarbonization. The domination of investments in renewable energy is unquestionable, but there are also ambitions to develop […]
The deployment of battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Southeast Europe is progressing at an uneven pace. State subsidies and financing mechanisms have enabled the rapid implementation of BESS solutions in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, while markets in the Western Balkans are lagging behind. However, the outlook remains positive, as experiences from neighboring markets and […]
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 […]
The European Commission set out a plan to phase out by the end of 2027 the purchases of Russian natural gas, including in the form of LNG, and oil. The package includes proposals aiming to replace Russian nuclear fuel and materials as well. The European Union will end its dependency on Russian energy by stopping […]
After retiring the two remaining mainland coal power plants, scheduled for this year, Italy’s government intends to switch the facilities to standby instead of dismantling them. Two others are on the island of Sardinia, which is waiting for another subsea interconnection to complete the coal phaseout. Italy has 4.7 GW in coal power capacity left, […]
The Western Balkans could see a 20 GW increase in installed capacity by 2040, with nearly 65% coming from renewables, Aurora Energy Research found. Short-term volatility and increased costs of commodities are expected to keep electricity prices near or over EUR 100 per MWh until 2030. Aurora Energy Research issued its first forecast for the […]
Helsinki’s municipal energy company Helen closed its last coal facility. Together with the country’s remaining plants that use the solid fossil fuel, Salmisaari accounted for just 0.8% of the electricity mix in 2024. The Government of Finland earlier set May 1, 2029, as the coal exit date. Two years ago, the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor […]
Public Power Corp. (PPC) presented a EUR 5.8 billion investment plan for the coal region of Western Macedonia in northern Greece. It held the ceremony in the retired Kardia 2 lignite-fired power plant. According to PPC’s chairman and CEO George Stassis, the endeavor consists of the decommissioning of old assets and the rollout of new […]