Montenegro has begun converting its solar pipeline into near-term generation, with construction of the 40 MW Kapino Polje complex offering EPCG additional summer output that could reduce electricity imports and preserve valuable hydropower for higher-priced hours.
Work is under way on the L1, L2 and B1 sections of the project near Nikšić, representing around 20 MW, with support structures completed and approximately 4 MW of photovoltaic panels already installed.
Construction of the additional 20 MW B2 section is expected to begin shortly, taking the complex to about 40 MW.
The milestone matters because much of Montenegro’s renewable growth pipeline remains in development, permitting or tender phases.
Kapino Polje is now moving beyond project announcements into actual equipment installation.
The development is being implemented through EPCG Solar Gradnja, the utility’s dedicated solar construction company, as part of a broader strategy to add distributed and utility-scale photovoltaic generation.
Montenegro remains heavily dependent on hydropower and the Pljevlja coal plant, leaving electricity production highly sensitive to rainfall, reservoir levels and thermal availability.
Additional solar capacity can reduce summer imports and allow EPCG to conserve reservoir water for evening peaks or periods when regional prices are higher.
That makes the value of the project larger than its installed capacity alone.
The challenge is increasingly shifting from adding renewable megawatts to integrating them efficiently.
Solar generation is concentrated in daytime hours, while regional electricity prices often rise sharply after sunset.
That is making storage, flexible hydro operation and stronger transmission links increasingly important to the economics of new photovoltaic projects.
Kapino Polje therefore fits into a broader change in EPCG’s generation portfolio.
The utility is pursuing wind, solar and battery opportunities while modernising existing hydro and thermal assets, effectively moving from a system dominated by a small number of large plants towards a more diversified portfolio.
The project is also relevant to Montenegro’s export position.
The country has historically alternated between electricity surplus and deficit depending largely on hydrology and availability at Pljevlja.
Every additional renewable project reduces that volatility, particularly during periods of strong summer solar output.
A 40 MW solar plant will not transform Montenegro’s electricity balance on its own.
But it marks the point at which EPCG’s state-led solar strategy begins generating physical assets rather than simply development capacity — and could gradually reduce the volume of expensive electricity Montenegro must buy during dry summer periods.
