Region Expected to Double Its Solar Capacities

All the countries of Southeast Europe (SEE) are expected to at least double their solar capacities, whereas hydro power is likely to remain the main renewable energy source in the region, announced the Dutch corporate consulting company Solarplaza International.

Solar energy has achieved considerable progress in the countries of southeast Europe, with a share of 14.1% in the total capacity of renewable energy in the region at the end of 2022, which is an increase compared to 10.1% last year, says Solarplaza International in the summary of the prepared materials ahead of their conference Solarplaza Summit Balkans, which is an overview of the regional Balkan solar photovoltaic (PV) market in 2023.

Bulgaria is the most dominant market in the region, which also includes Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, the so-called Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This region had a cumulative PV capacity of 2 GW by the end of 2022.

Albania fully relies on the production of energy from renewable sources, whereas Croatia and Montenegro have the second and the third biggest shares of renewable energy in the total production of electrical energy, at 63% and 52% respectively.

On the other hand, the so-called Kosovo has a mix of electrical energy with the biggest carbon share in the relative sense, with a share of renewable energy of only 6.3%.

In Serbia, the quota for solar power plants has only just been opened and, of the offered 50 MW, only 11.6 MW has been allocated so far. Serbia has eight wind farms, with a total power of 398 MW, and with the quota of 400 MW at the recent auction, in the next three years, it will get a new 600 MW of renewable energy.

By the end of 2022, fossil fuels comprised more than 53% of the production of electrical energy in SEE countries, whereas renewable energy sources comprised around 33% of the total production, according to Solarplaza.

Solarplaza International

hydro energy

solar energy

solar power plant quota