North Macedonia’s gross electricity production fell 13.2% year on year to 408,045 MWh in June, highlighting continuing pressure on the country’s ageing generation fleet as drought and high temperatures complicate system operation.
Thermal power plants generated 131,405 MWh, down 23.6% from a year earlier.
Hydropower production increased 36% to 99,639 MWh, while solar generation declined 12.2% to 159,796 MWh and wind output fell 13.4% to 14,010 MWh.
Electricity imports declined 11.8% to 99,906 MWh, while exports dropped 40.4% to 61,137 MWh.
North Macedonia is simultaneously accelerating development of renewable capacity around its existing coal infrastructure.
PowerChina Jiangxi Electric Power Construction has been selected for a 30-MW solar project for state utility ESM, comprising 10 MW at the exhausted Oslomej coal mine and 20 MW near the Bitola thermal-power complex.
The contract is valued at around €12 million.
Oslomej is becoming an important testing ground for the country’s coal-to-clean-energy transition.
Existing solar capacity has already been developed on former mining land, while a 50 MW/200 MWh battery is being installed alongside a separate solar project.
The model allows North Macedonia to reuse grid infrastructure and degraded industrial land while gradually replacing coal generation with solar and storage.
It also reflects a wider trend across Southeast Europe, where former thermal-power and mining sites are emerging as preferred locations for renewable projects because transmission access, industrial land and existing infrastructure can shorten development timelines.
