Macedonian power utility has 1.7 GW of projects in pipeline

Macedonian power utility has 1.7 GW of projects in pipeline – CEO

Date: February 1^st 2023

Topic: Electricity , Natural gas , Renewables , Energy policy , Economy , Ecology

North Macedonia’s power utility ESM will add more than 1.7 GW of new capacity to the country’s energy portfolio over the next two decades, its CEO Vasko Kovacevski told a conference in Skopje on Tuesday.

“At this moment, ESM is working on 12 projects which will add 1,760 MW of new energy capacity,” he said.

Aside from the construction of solar farms at the Bitola and Oslomej coal mines, these projects include wind parks, hydropower stations and natural gas plants.

“We will build gas plants, as in Bitola, where we will replace two coal units, another cogeneration plant in Skopje, and of course, one large gas-fired power plant that will be installed at [the] Negotino [oil-fired power plant],” he said.

Kovacevski added that ESM had managed to increase its production by 26.5% in 2022 compared to a year earlier.

“In 2023, we are aiming for an additional 20% increase in domestic electricity production with the sole objective of maintaining a stable energy supply for citizens,” he said.

Since the energy crisis began in mid-2021, the Macedonian government has spent EUR 286m on subsidising over 80% of energy bills for households and small businesses.

Battery storage

North Macedonia expects to install 250-300 MW of renewable energy sources this year, which is double what it did in 2022.

Marko Bislimovski, the head of energy regulator Erc, has called for more battery storage to balance the power produced from renewables.

“Installing more renewables is good and it should be supported, but in terms of maintenance and balancing the system they can cause problems since they generate power only when there is sun or wind. Installing batteries will reduce the cost of balancing and help investors be more competitive in the market,” Bislimovski said at the same conference, Year of New Opportunities, where all state institutions have presented their operating plans for 2023.

He added that in January Erc had issued 30 licences for power production and received another 150 requests, which reflected increasing interest in more investment in renewables and especially solar.