Serbia has launched its second renewable energy auction, for wind projects up to an approved quota of 300MW and solar projects up to 125MW.
These will be supported through a Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme for 15 years.
The approved maximum bid prices are €79/MWh for wind and €72/MWh for solar.
The launch follows technical cooperation between the Ministry of Mining and Energy and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which was supported by the government of Switzerland via a grant from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The EBRD, a key supporter of renewable energy auctions across its countries of operations, has had a longstanding partnership with the Serbian authorities aimed at establishing competitive procurement processes for renewable energy projects and implementing regulatory reforms in the energy sector to enable these auctions to take place.
The resulting CfD scheme has been shown to incentivise investment in renewable energy through the revenue stability it provides to developers.
SECO and EBRD shareholders have provided funding for this technical assistance, which encompasses both the broader regulatory framework for renewables and the auctions themselves.
The EBRD’s regional director for the Western Balkans Matteo Colangeli said: “We believe that auctions are the most effective tool to deliver competitively priced green energy and we are proud of the partnership we built over the years with the Serbian authorities to introduce the necessary regulations and conduct these processes.
“Following the success of last year’s auction, this second step towards fulfilling the 1300MW three-year plan announced by Serbia is an important signal to investors and all market participants about the country’s commitment to scaling up wind and solar energy – a commitment that we intend to continue supporting in the years ahead through more investments, technical assistance and policy advice.”
Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic said: “The greater capacity from clean sources that we will provide through these auctions will bring increased electricity production in our country, contributing to greater economic growth and an increase in foreign direct investment.
“Increasing green energy’s share of the energy mix is also important for achieving the goals of the green agenda, and its availability is increasingly a requirement of investors for investing in Serbia.
“We expect that investors will again show significant interest in this auction and that the entire quota will be used, both for wind energy and for solar energy, and we hope for even more competitive and lower prices, because we expect great competition.
“This will bring us closer to achieving the goal foreseen in the three-year incentive plan for RES, which envisages 1300MW of new capacity from RES.”