North Macedonia’s gross electricity production decreased 13.2% year on year to 408,045 MWh in June. The figures were released against a backdrop of drought and high temperatures affecting system operation.
Electricity from thermal power plants totaled 131,405 MWh, down 23.6% compared with the same month a year earlier. Hydropower generation rose 36% to 99,639 MWh.
Solar output fell 12.2% to 159,796 MWh, while wind generation declined 13.4% to 14,010 MWh. Imports decreased 11.8% to 99,906 MWh, and exports dropped 40.4% to 61,137 MWh.
Renewables expansion linked to existing coal sites
North Macedonia is accelerating renewable capacity development around its existing coal infrastructure. The approach includes projects located at and near former or operating thermal-power assets.
PowerChina Jiangxi Electric Power Construction has been selected for a 30-MW solar project for state utility ESM. The scope comprises 10 MW at the exhausted Oslomej coal mine and 20 MW near the Bitola thermal-power complex.
The contract value is around €12 million. Oslomej is described as becoming an important testing ground for the country’s coal-to-clean-energy transition.
Batteries and reuse of industrial land for new solar capacity
The solar development model includes use of former mining land where existing solar capacity has already been built. Alongside a separate solar project, a 50 MW/200 MWh battery is being installed.
The plan is designed to reuse grid infrastructure and degraded industrial land while gradually replacing coal generation with solar and storage. It also aligns with a broader pattern across Southeast Europe, where former thermal-power and mining sites are used for renewable projects due to transmission access and existing infrastructure that can shorten development timelines.
