Serbia installs record-breaking 134.3 MW of solar in 2025 – Delays in permit issuance and implementation slowing down progress

Solar energy in Serbia is experiencing rapid growth and an increasingly important role in the country’s energy transition. After years of gradual development, 2025 marked a historic record in the installation of new capacities, signaling that the domestic market is entering a new phase.

Serbia had a record year for solar additions in 2025, led by deployment of large-scale plants. The country has a gigawatt-size project pipeline, although most remain in the earlier stages of development and are not expected to come online this year, announced RES Serbia.

According to the data published by the RES Serbia Association, Serbia added 134.3 MW of solar last year. The figure is a record for a calendar year in Serbia, building on the 80 MW added in 2024, and takes the country’s cumulative solar capacity to 318.3 MW, said Danijela Isailovic, Manager of Association RES Serbia, in a statement to pv magazine.

She told pv magazine that 2025’s deployment figures had consisted of 92 MW from new solar power plants and 42.1 MW of added prosumer capacity. Isailovic explained that Serbia’s solar market was dominated by the large-scale utility segment at that moment, with a cumulative 192.2 MW installed as of December. But she added that the number of prosumers was also growing rapidly, with businesses and households seeking to reduce energy costs and play a part in Serbia’s energy transition.

Households are currently the largest group of prosumers in Serbia, with 4,435 installations nationwide accounting for 37.1 MW of installed solar. Other prosumers, including industrial and commercial facilities, government institutions, churches, and educational centers, account for 1,631 installations and 88.8 MW of Serbia’s solar capacity.

The results of Serbia’s second renewables auction were announced last February, awarding 176.6 MW across five solar projects, alongside five wind energy sites. The largest solar winner was the Solarina project, under development by CWP Europe in the municipality of Zajecar in eastern Serbia, which secured the right to a market premium for 105 MW of its planned 150 MW.

RES Serbia is now calling for a third renewables auction to be put in place, after Serbia’s auction plan originally scheduled announcement for last year.

Isailovic told pv magazine the Solarina project was expected to start construction in 2026. Other key projects set to start building this year include the Nocaj 1 and Nocaj 2 solar power projects under development by Turkish renewable energy producer Fortis Energy. The company received a connection permit for a 270 MW solar plus 72 MWh battery energy storage system in northwestern Serbia in October.

Serbia’s solar project pipeline also includes plans to develop 1 GW of solar across six sites by 2027, a separate 500 MW solar deal and a 1 GW solar panel factory. However, Isailovic warned that delays in permitting and implementation hindered project progress in 2025 and could remain a problem in 2026.

– It seems that projects will not be operational by the end of 2026, so we expect approximately the same or even less solar projects connected to the grid by the end of this year – Isailovic said.

Last year also saw Serbia’s state-owned electricity company Elektroprivreda Srbije put its first solar power plant into operation, a 10 MW array at an old mining dumping site. The company has since said it plans to develop similar projects across other landfill sites and dumps and announced a design tender for a new solar project earlier this month.

Obnovljivi izvori energije Srbije

Danijela Isailović

development of solar capacities in Serbia