If investors’ plans come to fruition, all solar power plants in Nova Crnja, Kikinda, Knjaževac, Leban, and Ćuprija will start operating by June.
To recall, the interest of investors in solar power plants in last year’s auctions was significantly lower than for wind farms. A quota of a total of 25.2 MW was allocated for five solar power plants, which is half of the quota adopted by the Ministry of Mining and Energy for solar power plants.
Those who applied proved their seriousness, and some are already thinking about new auctions. However, it is essential to note that these projects are much less demanding than wind farms.
According to investors, it took one to two years from the idea to implementation. Most opted for project financing from banks, and they agree on the speed of obtaining the necessary permits—some are satisfied with collaboration with state institutions, while others believe the entire process could be improved, and procedures digitized. Some warn that their example may not serve as a rule for future investors in auctions because there is now a significantly larger number of demands than in previous years.
Despite the differences, one striking similarity is that, unlike wind farms, all solar power plants that won the first auctions are in Serbian ownership.
Below is an overview of all auction winners from the solar list, along with information on the expected start of operation.
Auction Winner B2 Nova Sun on the Grid by April
With an allocated quota of 8 MW, B2 Nova Sun is the winner of the auctions for solar power plants. B2 Sunspot, with a quota of 5.6 MW, is also on the list. Both solar power plants accepted a price of EUR 89.7 per MWh.
The B2 Nova Sun solar power plant is being built in Nova Crnja, and the B2 Sunspot is in Kikinda. Both solar power plants have obtained building permits and signed turnkey construction contracts with the company MT-KOMEX.
More than 50% of the work on the solar power plant in Nova Crnja has been completed, and the installation of solar panels has begun. According to our plans and work schedule, I expect the “B2 Nova Sun” power plant to be operational by the end of March or early April – Kostić noted.
As for the solar power plant in Kikinda, the building permit was obtained in December of last year, and construction started in mid-January.
Solar panels will arrive soon, and I expect the work on the power plant to be completed by the end of April or early May – Kostić announced, adding that the power plants were financed partly by investor funds and mostly by bank loans.
Kostić expressed satisfaction with the speed of obtaining all necessary permits but emphasized that they started all procedures on time.
We started the project at the end of 2021, so it will take a little over two years from the idea to implementation. As we started all procedures on time, we went through regular procedures when there were not so many requests for processing. Now there is a much larger volume of requests – Kostić concluded and added that the company is already considering the upcoming auctions announced for this year.
