Government Plans to Include Another 1,300 “Green” Megawatts in the System – Detailed Plan of Auctions for Electricity from Wind and Solar Power Plants Until 2025 Published

The Government of Serbia has adopted the Plan of the system of incentives for the use of renewable energy sources for the 2023-2025 period. The plan focuses on technologies of production of electrical energy from wind farms and the production of electrical energy from solar power plants.

The plan does not include incentives for the construction of small hydro power plants in the three-year period, due to, as said in the explanation, the challenges regarding their ecological acceptability.

The total capacity for which the right to incentives within the market premium system can be acquired in the period of the next three years amounts to 1,000 MW for the wind farm technology and 300 MW for the solar power plant technology.

First auctions in Q2 2023

The plan is for the first auctions for the awarding of the market premium to be held in the second quarter of 2023 for 400 MW of wind farm capacities and 50 MW of solar power plant capacities.

The next auctions for the allocation of the market premium will be held in the first quarter of 2024, where the auction quota will amount to 300 MW for wind farms and 100 MW for solar power plants, and in the first quarter of 2025, where the auction quota will amount to 300 MW for wind farms and 150 MW for solar power plants.

The first auctions this year will be carried out in a traditional, simpler form, where the incentives are allocated based on the financial offer.

The plan, as said, is for the future auctions to include other criteria as well, such as the readiness of the producer to offer electrical energy to the guaranteed supplier for the needs of the guaranteed supply of households and small purchasers, or to another end-buyer through a direct agreement on the buyout of renewable energy sources, which will ensure that the users of the incentives sell electrical energy in Serbia for the needs of the citizens and the economy.

– Considering the time deadline between the carrying out of the auction and the commission of the production capacity for which the right to incentives is acquired at the auction, and which is specific for each type of technology, in the next period of three years, it is expected that, in the first quarter of 2025, the capacity of solar power plants which acquires the right to incentives at the first auction (50 MW) will be put into operation, whereas in the fourth quarter of 2025, it is expected that the majority of the capacities of wind farms which acquire the right to incentives at the first auction (300 MW), as well as the majority of the capacities of solar power plants which acquire the right to incentives at the second auction (50 MW) will be put into operation – it is said.

Biogas power plants are not encompassed by the plan, because at the moment, feed-in tariffs are reserved for 68.26 MW, whose realization is expected by the end of 2025, which, in the case of realization with the current capacity of 28.48 MW, will secure nearly 100 MW capacities from this technology.

This, as said, is more than enough, considering that, at the moment, the feed-in tariff for electrical energy produced at biogas power plants is very high and amounts to EUR 200/MWh, so an additional inciting of biogas power plants could lead to an overload of the incentive system.

The plan doesn’t envisage auctions for other technologies either, such as biomass power plants, geothermal and other power plants, considering that there are no projects which would make the procedure competitive.

I. Z.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Plan of the system of incentives for the use of renewable energy sources for the 2023 2025 period

auctions for wind farms

auctions for solar power plants

price of electricity at auctions

market premium system

wind farms

solar power plants