The Ministry of Mining and Energy announced today the second round of auctions for the allocation of market premiums for renewable energy sources, at which investors will compete for the allocation of quotas totaling 424.8 MW – 300 megawatts are planned for wind power plants, and 124.8 MW for solar power plants. The auction is conducted in electronic form through the “Portal of RES – auctions”, and the deadline for submission of applications expires on February 5, 2025.
The Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović pointed out that the maximum price offered at the auction, which for wind power plants is 79 euros per megawatt-hour, and for solar power plants 72 euros per megawatt-hour, should ensure that the participation of green energy increases at a price that is acceptable to citizens and the economy.
Novelties compared to the first round of auctions
At this public call, several novelties were introduced compared to the previous round of auctions, the most important of which is that investors who, in addition to the offered price, offer capacity to a guaranteed supplier or end customer, through a contract for the purchase of electricity from renewable sources for a period of three to 15 years, which was also talked about by the minister’s advisor Rada Mrdak at the RES SERBIA 2024 conference.
– This means that we additionally encourage those investments that will ensure that the energy produced from domestic, clean sources is used for the needs of our citizens and the economy, improving the energy security of our country – the minister said.
Among other things, the novelty is the limitation of the maximum quota at auctions for solar power plants that can be assigned to one auction participant for one or more power plants, which is 105 MW, which will enable equal treatment of smaller producers and their projects compared to large RES producers. announced the Ministry of Mining and Energy. In addition, the auction rules provide that the offered capacity of the power plant cannot exceed the prescribed quota.
124.8 MW is planned for solar power plants Photo: Pixabay/Samuel Faber
The minister added that the first auctions, conducted in August of last year, in a fully digitalized procedure, were extremely successful, as 715 new green megawatts and more than 1.1 billion euros of investments were secured.
– We expect that the great interest of investors will be repeated at these auctions 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. In this way, we would come closer to reaching the goal foreseen in the three-year incentive plan for RES, which foresees 1,300 MW of new capacities from RES – stated Đedović Handanović.
EBRD: An important signal to investors
Matteo Colangeli, EBRD’s Regional Director for the Western Balkans, stated that auctions are the most effective tool for securing green energy at competitive prices.
– We are proud of the partnership we have built over the years with the Serbian authorities to introduce the necessary regulations and implement these processes. After the success of last year’s auction, this second step towards the fulfillment of the three-year plan of 1,300 MW, which Serbia announced, represents an important signal to investors and all market participants about the country’s commitment to increasing the capacity of wind and solar energy. It is a commitment that we intend to continue to support in the coming years through additional investments, technical assistance and policy advice – emphasized Colangeli.
Photo: Pixabay/Janusz Walczak