Serbia’s government has set quotas for the second round of renewable energy auctions, with specific capacity limits for wind farms and solar power plants. The quota for wind farms with a capacity of over 3 MW is 300 MW, while the quota for solar power plants with a capacity of more than 500 kW is 124.8 MW.
The maximum auction prices for the upcoming round have been reduced compared to last year. The price for wind farms is set at 79 euros/MWh, while for solar power plants, it is 72 euros/MWh. These prices represent a significant decrease from last year’s maximum auction prices, which were 105 euros/MWh for wind and 90 euros/MWh for solar.
The second round of auctions for allocating market premiums for renewable energy is expected to open this month, as previously announced. Rade Mrdak, an advisor at the Ministry of Mining and Energy, mentioned that a new evaluation criterion will be introduced. In addition to the offered price, the evaluation will also consider the portion of the capacity that investors allocate to end-user supply. This capacity may be offered to the guaranteed supplier, state-owned EPS, or directly to end-users through power purchase agreements (PPA) or corporate energy purchase agreements.
The new criterion aims to encourage investors who are willing to support end-users with their electricity supply.
Winners of the auction will not be announced until next year. Investors will have an extended deadline to submit their bids, with results expected to be revealed in January 2025.
In last year’s auctions, which had a total capacity of 450 MW, 16 investors applied, offering a combined capacity of 816.48 MW, indicating strong interest in Serbia’s renewable energy sector.