On 18 December, a €5 million investment grant agreement, a donation from the European Union (EU), was signed today in Skopje between ESM (Power plants of North Macedonia) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The investment grant will complement a previously extended €25 million loan by the EBRD for the development and construction of two photovoltaic plants of combined power of 30 MW, located on an exhausted coal mines in Oslomej and Bitola. The investment grant was approved and extended under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).

The investment follows the successful completion of the Oslomej 1 solar power plant which is in operation since April 2022 and which the EU and EBRD also supported with financing.

Once constructed, the two power plants will contribute to North Macedonia’s renewable targets by producing nearly 48 GWh per year of green electricity, providing supply for about 16,000 households, and displacing 40,000 tonnes of CO₂per year.

Michalis Rokas, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of North Macedonia, said: “We are no longer talking about alternative energy. Green economy is becoming mainstream and the investment opportunities are increasingly looking at the natural potential of North Macedonia. The EU and its partners will continue - in Team Europe spirit - to support North Macedonia’s path to decarbonisation, ensuring diversification and security of its energy supplies”.

Fatih Türkmenoğlu, EBRD Head of North Macedonia, said: “Building renewable energy power plants and alternative and sustainable use of the exhausted coal mining sites in Oslomej and Bitola sets a powerful example of the transition from coal to green energy for the entire region.”

Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Bozhinovska said that this grant marks the beginning of two significant projects that will contribute to the country’s energy transition.

Given the relatively high level of share of coal-based power generation in North Macedonia, EBRD aims to assist the country with financial support and technical cooperation to diversify generation sources and decrease electricity import dependence, with solar and wind being the two priority renewable sources to be developed in the short and medium term.

This project is financed under Flagship 4 – Renewable Energy – of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.

More about the project here

Oslomej 1 Solar power plant video, 2022

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