Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedovic, announced that Serbia’s installed wind and solar capacity increased by 83% in 2024. Looking ahead, the country aims for nearly 50% of its electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030.

Minister Djedovic highlighted the success of renewable energy auctions, which have resulted in contracts for nine new renewable energy sources (RES) facilities, five of which are already connected to the grid. These new power plants represent an investment of around €1 billion, contributing to the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector and positively impacting Serbia’s GDP.

The Minister also pointed out that the second round of auctions, offering an additional 425 MW of RES capacity, will conclude next week, with expectations of similar success to the first round. Serbia is on track to reach 1,300 MW from renewable sources by 2027, an essential milestone in the country’s energy strategy.

Italian companies have been pioneers in developing wind farms in Serbia, having built facilities totaling around 85 MW. Minister Djedovic noted that many more projects are in the works, amounting to hundreds of megawatts in new power plants. Serbia aims to expand these partnerships, recognizing their importance for energy security and reducing the country’s carbon footprint. This will be especially critical by 2026 when the EU’s Cross-Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) comes into effect.

Additionally, Minister Djedovic emphasized that Serbia is the only country in its region to have integrated EU energy packages into its legislation in preparation for integration with the EU electricity market, aiming to connect by 2026. Serbia also took a regional leadership role by launching an electricity exchange with two EU member states and is well-integrated into the regional transmission system with its eight interconnections.

She concluded by mentioning that completing the Trans-Balkan Corridor will increase transmission capacity with Montenegro and potentially enable a connection with Italy, expanding Serbia’s electricity trading opportunities.