New energy era awaits Novi Sad: Solar energy to be collected in lake during summer and used for heating in winter

By the end of 2030, if everything goes according to plan, Novi Sad could get its first solar thermal power plant with a large seasonal heat storage that would, with the help of solar panels, heat pumps and electric boilers, heat water in two artificial lakes during the summer, which would then be used for heating in the winter.

In this way, Novi Sad, which is otherwise 100% dependent on natural gas for heating, would reduce its need for this energy source by around 16% annually. This would also reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 17,000 tons annually. Moving away from gas, on which Serbia depends for around 90% and whose price increases with every geopolitical instability, is very important in these times.

That is the idea of this project, the construction of which is scheduled to begin in early 2028. Its value is EUR 105 million, of which 25 million is a grant from the European Union, while the remaining 80 million is a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

What will be built

The project leader for the solar thermal power plant is the PUC Novosadska toplana. The engineer of this project, Dusan Macura, explains that the project will include the construction of a solar collector field (solar panels), two large accumulation pools, a heat pump and electric boilers, adding that all of this will be integrated into the city district heating system of the heating plant in Novi Sad.

Macura indicates that the solar collector field will have an area of about 38,600 square meters and a capacity of 31 megawatts, and about 7.4 hectares of land will be required for their installation. Also, two large seasonal heat storages (two large accumulation lakes) will have a total volume of 870,000 m3 of water, which will require 20.7 hectares of land. The heat pump will have a capacity of 17 megawatts, and two electric cathode boilers will have a total capacity of 60 megawatts.

According to him, the planned plant will be located at the location near “Sangaj,” in the immediate vicinity of the “Novi Sad” thermal power plant, i.e. next to the existing infrastructure of the district heating system of the city of Novi Sad. The land intended for the construction of the project is state-owned and does not require expropriation.

How the power plant will function in practice

Engineer Macura explains that the basic idea of the project is to store energy from renewable sources during the summer months and use it in the winter to heat the city.

– This technology is known as Thermal Energy Storage (TES), or a thermal battery. In a large seasonal storage facility, the thermal energy collected during the summer would be stored, so that it could be used in the winter months with the help of a heat pump – says Macura.

In practice, this would look like a solar-thermal plant with a large heat accumulator using renewable solar energy (solar collector system), energy from the Danube (heat pump) and surplus electricity from the power system (electric boiler), and that energy is then distributed to the district heating system.

When asked whether the citizens of Novi Sad will feel the effects of this project through lower heating prices, Macura replies that the essence of the project is the substitution of part of the primary energy consumption and the introduction of renewable sources into the energy mix.

– The heating of Novi Sad today depends 100% on natural gas that Serbia imports. We have witnessed major disruptions in natural gas prices on the stock exchange in the last two weeks since the beginning of the aggression against Iran. All strategic investment projects that the Novi Sad District Heating Plant has implemented in the last 20 years have resulted in benefits for users - greater reliability and efficiency, as well as lower final energy costs – says Macura.

Macura, however, points out that in the context of the global geopolitical crisis and unstable supply chains, it is uncertain whether the planned deadlines will be met. He states that the contractors have not yet been selected, but that an international tender by the Ministry of Mining and Energy and the EBRD for the selection of an implementation consultant is underway.

Their task will be to conduct an international tender for the selection of contractors, select the contractor, contract and carry out professional supervision during the execution of the works. It is expected, says Macura, that the implementation consultant will announce the tender in the third quarter of 2027.

Given that the project is supported by the EBRD and the European Union, it will be implemented in compliance with and controlled by EBRD and EU standards, which, according to Macura, will ensure maximum quality and success.

Macura also points out that feasibility, justification and environmental impact studies have been carried out for this project.

JKP Novosadska toplana Novi Sad

PUC Novosadska toplana

Dušan Macura

construction of solar thermal power plant with seasonal heat storage in Novi Sad