Serbia announces 1 GW solar, 400 MWh battery storage sites

The Serbian government has called for the development of a spatial plan for six large-scale solar plants with a cumulative capacity of 1 GW that will be colocated with two-hour battery energy storage systems with a power output of at least 200 MW.

Mid last year, the government embarked on a lookout for strategic partners who would install the facilities, including 1,000 MWac (1,200 MWdc) of solar plants and at least 200 MW of battery storage. The facilities will be handed over to to state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), which acts as a sole owner and investor.

The consortium Hyundai Engineering – UGT Renewables (UGTR) was selected as the strategic partner in a tender called last July. Under the terms of the partnership, the strategic partner was required to select locations for the construction of the facilities, in addition to preparing all necessary documentation and procuring equipment. It was specified that single-axis trackers should be used.

Now, the government has given a tick of approval to the proposed sites – which include the cities of Zaječar and Leskovac and the four municipalities of Bujanovac, Lebane, Negotin, and Odžaci – and requested a spatial plan to be developed within eight months.

The partner will operate the solar plants and batteries over a period of two years, and during that time, it will be expected to provide O&M training to the EPS team. After the 2-year period, the facilities will be solely owned and operated by EPS, which has previously laid out plans to decommission around 1 GW of thermal power plants in the 2025-35 period.

The solar and battery facilities shall be delivered by June 1, 2028. Government representatives were quoted earlier this year saying that construction could start already in 2024.

According to the Association of Renewable Energy Sources of Serbia, the country has installed around 95 MW of solar. However, that figure is not exact, as there is no official registry for solar installed for self-consumption at this stage. Last April, Serbia switched on its largest utility-scale solar project, the 9.9 MW DeLasol PV project in Lapovo, central Serbia.

Presently, the country is looking to introduce new renewables-related regulation. Under the proposed changes to the Law on Energy, Serbia is looking to abolish net billing and net metering by the end of 2026.

It is also looking to allow end consumers to become active participants in the electricity market, introduce dynamc tariff contracts, establish corporate power purchase ageements, and to demand certification for installers of renewable energy facilities.

The proposed changes would also abolish the moratorium on new nuclear facilities, which has been in place for around three decades.