The Government of Montenegro adopted urban planning and technical conditions for a solar power plant of 81.1 MW in peak capacity in Pljevlja. The site for the facility is part of a coal mining complex. Greece is the most successful by far in the Balkans in transforming coal land into clean energy and advanced technology […]
Solar became the EU’s largest source of electricity for the first time in June 2025. National records for both photovoltaics and wind rolled in in May and June, pushing coal to an all-time low. Solar was the largest source of electricity in the European Union for the first time last month, with multiple countries producing […]
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 […]
In 2024, Western Balkan governments’ chronic law enforcement failures allowed sulphur dioxide (SO2) pollution from the region’s antiquated coal power plants to exceed legal limits by six times, according to the Comply or Close report. The overall particulate matter (PM or dust) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution from coal plants continued to exceed legal limits. […]
After 55 years of operation, a unit of KEK’s coal-fired power plant near Prishtina in Kosovo* is about to get a makeover, worth EUR 137.3 million. Firms can respond to the prequalification call for the facility’s rehabilitation and modernization by March 3. Government-controlled Kosovo Energy Corp. (KEK) launched a project for boosting the capacity and […]
Developers of 82 standalone battery storage projects in Bulgaria, for an overall 9.71 GWh in capacity, got approval for EUR 587 million in subsidies from the Ministry of Energy. Another 30 landed below the line, but the government intends to boost the program by EUR 120 million. More than four months after the deadline for […]
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, […]
Turkey switched in 2024 from a net electricity importer to net exporter, but renewables are still not growing fast enough to meet rising domestic power demand – one of the highest in the world, Ember found. The country has become Europe’s biggest coal power producer and there are plans for more such capacity. Wind and […]
According to Ember’s new figures, renewable energy sources met almost three quarters of last year’s increase in the world’s electricity demand. Together with nuclear energy, they would have covered almost the entire jump if it wasn’t for the share attributed to the annual increase in temperatures. Looking at it the other way around, the need […]