The Government of the Republic of Srpska has proposed amendments to renewable-energy rules aimed at preventing developers from splitting larger solar projects into multiple installations below 150 kW in order to access guaranteed electricity purchase prices. The changes are designed for ground-mounted solar plants that qualify for the incentivised offtake regime. The proposal introduces conditions intended to limit how many nominally independent plants can be registered within the same development area.
Minimum-distance requirement for small ground-mounted solar
Under the proposed framework, solar projects up to 150 kW would need to meet a minimum-distance requirement. The measure is intended to reduce the ability to register numerous separate installations in close proximity. Authorities have pointed to cases where land allocated for a single larger development was divided into multiple plots.
In identified examples, a single planned solar development was split into between 20 and 50 separate plots, with one plant registered on each plot below the 150 kW threshold. A development made up of 50 installations of 150 kW would total as much as 7.5 MW, even though each component could be treated formally as a small project. The authorities said this approach supported access to the incentivised offtake regime.
The structure described in the proposal enabled developers to avoid concession requirements and obtain construction approvals from local authorities. It also allowed them to secure guaranteed purchase prices for periods of up to 15 years. The proposal attributes the advantage to regulatory classification rather than operational efficiency.
Removal of preliminary incentive approval and eligibility after completion
The amendments would also remove the current system of preliminary incentive approval. Instead, developers would be eligible for guaranteed offtake only after construction is completed and all legal and technical conditions are satisfied. This would shift when support eligibility is confirmed during project delivery.
The change is expected to affect financing conditions for small projects by altering lender confidence timing. Preliminary eligibility can support lender assessment before construction, while post-completion qualification places more regulatory and completion risk on sponsors. Developers would need to finance construction without certainty that the asset will ultimately receive the expected support mechanism.
Transitional issues and treatment of existing permits
The revised framework could reduce speculative applications by limiting artificially fragmented projects from capturing incentive capacity. It may also create transitional risk for developments already structured using multiple special-purpose companies, land parcels or grid applications. The proposal highlights that existing project structures could face uncertainty under any new eligibility interpretation.
For lenders and investors, the key point would be whether the final law includes grandfathering provisions. The proposal specifies that this would apply to projects with existing permits, connection approvals or preliminary incentive status. Without clear transitional rules, projects that were compliant when initiated could see changes to revenue assumptions after development capital has already been committed.
Regulatory focus beyond capacity thresholds
The proposed reform reflects a broader shift away from capacity thresholds as the sole test for project eligibility. Regulators are described as increasingly examining common ownership, shared connection infrastructure, adjacent land, coordinated construction and the economic substance of a development when determining whether installations are genuinely separate.
