Connection of power plants which use RES temporarily suspended

In Serbia, the issuance of new conditions for the connection of renewable energy power plants has been temporarily suspended because the number of requests currently exceeds the energy needs at the level of Serbia. This is the response that the Biznis.rs portal received from Elektrodistribucija Srbije (EDS) to an official inquiry about the reasons why the solar power plant built by the energy cooperative Elektropionir has not been connected to the system for more than two years.

EDS states in its response that after the adoption of the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources in May 2023, a mechanism was introduced to postpone the procedure for connecting renewable energy power plants if the Analysis of the Adequacy of Production and Consumption, which is part of the Serbian Transmission System Development Plan, shows that there are risks to the stable operation of the electricity system.

As they point out, the Energy Agency has approved such a Transmission System Development Plan.

– As the number of requests for the connection of power plants using renewable sources currently significantly exceeds the energy needs at the state level, the issuance of new conditions for the connection of power plants using renewable sources has been temporarily suspended, until the next Analysis of the Adequacy of Production and Consumption – EDS stated.

Ana Dzokic from the energy cooperative Elektropionir says that the decision to temporarily suspend the connection is a surprise for them, although they have not received any response from the authorities since the moment the documentation for the solar power plant Solarna berba in Gornja Bukovica was submitted more than two years ago.

This is a 20 kW power plant built in cooperation with the organic farm Organela near Valjevo, which is the first agri-solar power plant in Serbia. The panels are designed to produce clean energy and at the same time create a shadow that protects sensitive organic crops from heat waves and hail, while reducing the evaporation of moisture from the soil.

With the support of the Japanese government and the United Nations Development Program, the power plant was fully completed exactly two years ago, since when it has been waiting for the connection, says Dzokic.

– At the end of 2023, we submitted a complete application for connection to the EDS distribution network, with all the necessary supporting documentation and compliance with technical regulations. To this day, we have not even received an official response, let alone a date for connection. It seems to us that the system is still not ready or does not have enough will to accept small, decentralized producers who are common people – she believes.

As she adds, every sunny day that passes without connection is a day in which the burning of lignite in Kolubara could have been reduced.

– We are discouraging citizens. People who see such examples lose motivation to invest in solar energy themselves. We have economic losses. Energy that is not produced is a pure loss for the cooperative – says Dzokic.

In response to the fact that the connection of power plants to RES is being suspended for the time being, EDS states that in the request for the specific solar power plant Solarna berba, evidence was not submitted that the appropriate urban planning document determines the purpose of the space on which the power plant can be built, which is an obligation under the Regulation on the Conditions of Delivery and Supply of Electric Energy from October 2023, as well as the Law on Planning and Construction, given that this is a facility for which location conditions and a decision on approval for the execution of works are obtained under Article 145.

– In order for EDS to be able to process said request, it is necessary for the party to submit information about the location of the cadastral parcel on which it plans to build a power plant, from which the determined purpose of the space for the construction of facilities for the production of electricity is clearly visible – EDS states.

This leads to the conclusion that Elektropionir’s request for the connection of the Solarna berba solar power plant was not even considered because, as they claim, the request was not complete. Ana Dzokic says that all this information is completely new to them at Elektropionir because they have not received any information from EDS for a little over two years.

Stojadinovic: Suspension does not apply to power plants up to 400 kW

Renewable energy expert Dejan Stojadinovic, however, says that the suspension of connections applies to capacities greater than 400 kW.

– It is true that Serbian regulations, after the amendments to the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources from 2023, recognize the institute of postponing the connection procedure for power plants that use variable RES, but the quoted response from EDS results in an overly broad interpretation that this boils down to a general and temporary “suspension of issuing new conditions for the connection of power plants that use renewable sources” as such – says Stojadinovic.

The Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources does indeed introduce a special regime for power plants that use variable RES, i.e. sources such as wind and sun, when the adequacy analysis shows risks to the safe operation of the system due to the lack of a balancing reserve. Therefore, the legal basis exists, but it is not formulated as a general ban on all RES connections, but as a delay measure under the conditions prescribed by law, he explains.

– When adopting the 2023 amendments, the Ministry explained that the goal was for the operator to be able to delay the connection if it is shown in a transparent procedure that there is not enough balancing reserve, with the possibility for investors to avoid the delay in certain cases if they provide additional balancing capacity. This means that the logic of the law is not “a stop sign for everyone,” but a conditional and differentiated approach – Stojadinovic states.

According to him, EDS’s response that “the issuance of new conditions for the connection of power plants using renewable sources has been suspended” is an incorrect interpretation of the law.

He also points out that the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources (Article 68b) provides for exceptions to the delay in connection for power plants using renewable energy sources, if the applicant provides new capacity for the provision of ancillary services or a battery or concludes a contract with a provider of such services, as well as for power plants with a capacity of less than 400 kW (the delay does not apply to them).

– It is true that AERS has approved the EMS Transmission System Development Plan for the period 2023–2032. It is also true that the adequacy analysis may be the basis for the occurrence of conditions for the delay in the connection procedure due to risks to the safe operation of the system and the lack of a balancing reserve. But EDS’s claim that these requirements significantly exceed the energy needs at the level of the Republic of Serbia looks more like an economic-political explanation than a precise legal test, because the law focuses on the safety of the system and the available balancing reserve, and not on abstract “energy needs of the state” – Stojadinovic states.

His opinion is that EDS should specify the exact article of the law and bylaw to which it refers, as well as the specific notice of the occurrence of the conditions for postponement that was published based on the development plan and AERS consent (published on the website).

Elektrodistribucija Srbije d.o.o. Beograd

Agencija za energetiku Republike Srbije

Energetska zadruga Elektropionir Beograd

Elektrodistribucija Srbije

Energy Agency

energy cooperative Elektropionir

Ana Džokić

Dejan Stojadinović

issuing of new conditions for connecting power plants which use RES