Montenegro has installed more than 8.5 MW of rooftop solar capacity to date, Zeljko Pekic, the manager of the Solari 3000+ and 500+ projects run by the power utility EPCG, told Montel on Sunday.

Building on the popularity of its ongoing Solari 3000+ and 500+ projects that were launched in 2021 and have attracted over 14,000 expressions of interest, EPCG launched the Solari 5000+ project at the end of 2022. Besides households and businesses, it is also intended for housing associations and homeowners in smaller residential buildings with up to four floors.

At the end of January, EPCG amended and extended a public call for expressions of interest in the installation of 70 MW of rooftop solar capacity until 13 February. Under the new terms, applications with 0.1-1 MW of rooftop solar capacity are now eligible, EPCG has confirmed in a post on its Facebook account.

The estimated cost of the Solari 5000+ project is EUR 70m, and EPCG aims to provide a 20% subsidy for those that qualify for these rooftop solar installations.

Pekic said in a written response to Montel that a total of 1,081 consumers have become prosumers. However, he pointed out that colder weather had slowed down the pace of installations for the time being.

Meanwhile, EPCG has also extended its public call for banks that wish to offer partial or full funding for the Solari 5000+ project until 13 February.

Since the Solari projects began, EPCG has been trying to streamline its application and installation procedures.

In December, the Montenegrin parliament lowered the VAT rate on solar panels from 21% to 7% to stimulate the deployment of solar energy installations and spur the country’s green energy transition.

With around 240 sunny days a year, this small Western Balkan country with a population of under 622,000 has the potential to greatly develop its solar capacity.