July 11, 2025
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Solar beats nuclear in June, becoming EU’s biggest electricity source for first time

Solar became the EU’s largest source of electricity for the first time in June 2025. National records for both photovoltaics and wind rolled in in May and June, pushing coal to an all-time low.

Solar was the largest source of electricity in the European Union for the first time last month, with multiple countries producing record amounts of solar power, Ember found. Wind power achieved the highest ever generation for the months of May and June, the think tank said.

Solar power generated 22.1% of EU electricity (45.4 TWh) in June, more than any other power source. It was a year-over-year increase of 22%. In second place was nuclear, with 21.8% (44.7 TWh), followed by wind, with 15.8% (32.4 TWh).

The big opportunity now comes from adding battery storage and flexibility to extend the use of renewable power into mornings and evenings, where fossil fuels still set high power prices, according to Ember’s Senior Energy analyst Chris Rosslowe.

At least thirteen EU countries set monthly solar records

At least thirteen countries recorded their highest-ever month of solar generation, amid an ongoing surge in photovoltaic installations. Among them were Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Slovenia and Romania, all the EU countries in the region that Balkan Green Energy News is focused on except Cyprus, for which there was no data for June.

Wind power reached an all-time high shares of 16.6% (33.7 TWh) and 15.8% (32.4 TWh) in May and June, respectively

Strong photovoltaic output helped the power system to handle higher levels of demand resulting from heatwaves that gripped the continent towards the end of the month, according to the report.

Wind farms generated 16.6% (33.7 TWh) and 15.8% (32.4 TWh) of EU electricity in May and June, respectively. It was an all-time high for both months. Notably, at the start of the year, wind conditions were relatively poor. They improved, and they were the main driver, though capacity has been continuously growing over the past year. Several large offshore wind farms were commissioned.

Coal falls to record low

As a result of high renewables generation in June, coal had the lowest-ever share of EU electricity. Total fossil generation was also low, but it grew in the entire first half of the year on an annual basis.

Coal generated just 6.1% (12.6 TWh) of EU electricity in June, down from the 8.8% registered in the same month of last year.

The two countries that account for the vast majority of EU coal power (79% in June) both saw record lows in June. Namely, Germany generated just 12.4% (4.8 TWh) of its power from coal, and Poland 42.9% (5.1 TWh). Four other countries recorded their lowest-ever month of coal generation in June: Czechia (17.9%), Bulgaria (16.7%), Denmark (3.3%) and Spain (0.6%), which is approaching its coal phaseout.

Fossil fuels generated 23.6% (48.5 TWh) of EU electricity in June, just above the record low of 22.9% in May 2024. Nevertheless, fossil generation in the first half of 2025 was 13% higher (by 45.7 TWh) than in the first half of 2024, mainly due to a jump in gas generation by 19% or 35.5 TWh. Lower hydropower (due to drought) and wind generation than last year, and increasing demand marked the period.

Electricity demand continued on an upward trajectory. In the first half of 2025, the EU consumed 1.31 PWh of electricity or 2.2% more than in the same period of last year.

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July 11, 2025
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Cyprus curtails as much renewable electricity in first half of 2025 as whole last year

According to data compiled by the CyprusGrid tracking platform, the island country curtailed more than 167 GWh of renewable electricity in the first six months of 2025. It was equivalent to last year’s entire cuts. On average, two thirds of the potential green energy production was lost per day in March.

In addition to being the only European Union member state without an interconnection with another power system, Cyprus only has oil-fired generators, a surging solar power capacity, wind parks and some biomass-fired facilities. Other countries, like Greece, also must curtail renewable electricity units, but maintaining system stability requires more drastic cuts in the isolated island nation. Notably, it still lacks energy storage, while the conventional power plants lack flexibility.

According to a statistical report from a few months ago, Cyprus hosted almost 850 MW of solar power, of which less than 400 MW was in commercial photovoltaic plants. Prosumers operated the rest. Licensed projects amounted to 2.8 GW. Wind power amounts to 155 MW.

Rapid growth of solar power capacity brings more episodes of overloads, when grid operators have to curtail photovoltaic and wind power production. At the same time, sudden weather changes can push production to a critically low level, which can also cause outages before conventional facilities step in to cover the deficit.

Curtailments to double this year

Founder of the CyprusGrid tracking platform Andreas Procopiou said on LinkedIn that more than 167 GWh of renewable energy was curtailed in the first half of the year. It’s how much was lost whole last year, he pointed out.

The conventional power plants in Cyprus aren’t able to lower or boost production fast enough to balance the changes in renewables

The cuts will almost certainly exceed 300 GWh in 2025, doubling the all-time high in just one year, Procopiou estimated. The average monthly growth rate has actually more than doubled from 2024, according to the developer of the electricity generation tracker.

Cuts boost emission costs by EUR 8 million

Curtailments erased 20.8 GWh in June alone. The daily average was 29.3% of total renewables output. It compares to May’s 33.9 GWh and 50.3%, respectively, after 37.9 GWh and 61.4% in April. March was the worst, with 38.2 GWh lost, or a whopping 67.9% of potential production, CyprusGrid data shows.

“Solar energy that could reduce costs and pollutants ends up being lost. For 2025 alone, the cuts already amount to more than 100,000 tons of additional CO₂ emissions and an additional burden of around EUR 8 million for emission allowances. A cost that we all ultimately pay,” Procopiou stressed.

Without storage, flexibility and serious planning, the energy transition remains just an empty slogan, the renewable energy expert pointed out.

Nevertheless, French giant TotalEnergies isn’t intimidated by the curtailments. It won the environmental approval a month ago for a photovoltaic park of 100 MW in peak capacity. But the company is planning to include energy storage.

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July 8, 2025
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Heatwave strains European grid, brings profit to energy storage operators

Record solar power production, backed by yet insufficient energy storage capacity, helped maintain the stability of the electricity system in Europe during the latest heatwave, Ember said. Many nuclear and other thermal power plants reduced their activity as river water temperature wasn’t low enough for efficient cooling. Intraday price spreads at European power exchanges landed a windfall for owners of battery energy storage systems and pumped storage hydropower plants.

The heatwave since late June has caused stress for European power systems, driving electricity demand and doubling daily power prices. Yet grids remained stable, fueled by record volumes of solar, think tank Ember pointed out in a report.

Outside temperatures jumped to more than 40 degrees Celsius, triggering an increase in electricity demand as the use of air conditioners soared. Outages in nuclear and thermal power plants exacerbated the challenges.

Daily electricity demand on July 1 was by up to 6% higher in Germany, 9% in France and 14% in Spain than on June 24. As for peak demand, it jumped by 12% in France, 15% in Spain, and 5% in Germany and Poland.

A bigger electricity price spread within one day means higher income for operators of battery energy storage systems

The average daily price surged 15% in Spain, 106% in Poland, 108% in France and 175% in Germany.

“Despite the huge pressure, European grids passed the stress test, and solar electricity played a major role in keeping them running. The surplus of solar energy during the day helped prevent blackouts. However, the use of energy storage is still insufficient, leading to reduced energy supply after sunset. This translated into a sharp increase in electricity prices,” said Ember’s Europe Programme Director Paweł Czyżak.

Record EU solar generation helps keep power supply stable

June saw the highest solar generation on record in the European Union – 45 TWh, which kept the grid well-supplied during daytime hours. The result was 22% up from one year before.

“Heatwaves will not go away – they will only get more severe in the future. Solutions that can help mitigate their impacts, such as battery storage, interconnection, demand flexibility and dynamic tariffs, should become a key part of grid planning and power market design,” Czyżak added. The biggest opportunity is to store solar electricity, to help power air conditioning well into the evening, he stressed.

Outages limited but still posing concern

The overheating of cables is the likely cause of power outages in Italy on July 1. With rising air and water temperatures, the cooling of thermal power plants becomes more challenging as well. It led to forced reductions in electricity generation from nuclear power plants in France and Switzerland.

The French nuclear fleet has been impacted the most, with all but one of the 18 facilities experiencing some type of capacity reduction. According to the update, up to 15% of the capacity may have been impacted.

A blackout of several hours struck large parts of the Czech Republic including Prague on July 4. However, the authorities only blamed it on a transmission cable in the country’s northwest falling, and the resulting domino effect. Notably, the air temperature was much lower than in previous days.

Sun brings power alongside heat

In the peak days of the heatwave in Germany, solar delivered 50 GW and even more, generating 33% to 39% of Germany’s electricity. The country hosts 14 GW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and 10 GW of pumped storage, which partly bridged the gap between the peaks of production and consumption.

The rallies in electricity prices in the evenings are getting passed on to consumers, so using air conditioners gets more expensive upon sunset. It is a business case for clean flexibility solutions. Due to a high supply of solar electricity during the day, and a cooling-related demand peak in the late afternoon hours, the daily electricity price spreads skyrocketed.

The spread in Poland in the day-ahead segment almost reached EUR 500 per MWh on July 1. Namely, the daily low was EUR 21.04 per MWh below zero, and the peak amounted to EUR 471 per MWh. In Germany, the benchmark went from EUR 0.16 per MWh in negative territory to EUR 404.91 per MWh.

Storage assets charge at low prices and discharge during peak time, reducing the need for costly imported fossil fuels in the evening, and supporting the balancing of the grid, the analysts underscored.

Interconnection played a role as well. The heatwave peaked in different countries on different days, so interconnectors moved electricity to where it was needed most, dissipating the price peaks in the process.

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June 19, 2025
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Spain’s voltage control was insufficient at time of April blackout

The Government of Spain said the total blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, which occurred on April 28, was caused by overvoltage, with several factors contributing to the crash. Notably, the system run by the country’s TSO Red Eléctrica de España lacked sufficient voltage control. Deputy Prime Minister Sara Aagesen even said the point of no return could have been avoided if voltage control action had been taken earlier.

In a long-awaited document, a government committee that investigated the April 28 collapse of the Iberian electricity network ruled out that a cyberattack caused it. The panel analyzed more than 300 gigabytes of data related to the total blackout, which was one of the worst ever in Europe.

“In 49 days, practically half the timeframe established by the EU, the committee has provided a rigorous and verified diagnosis that will allow us to strengthen the electricity system, a solid foundation on which we can work to design rapid responses to prevent this from happening again. Next week’s Council of Ministers will approve several relevant measures,” said Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge Sara Aagesen.

The cybersecurity investigation, the largest ever undertaken in the country, did identify vulnerabilities that could expose networks or systems to future risks, she asserted.

The blame game is continuing as citizens and businesses are demanding accountability for the massive damage. The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) issued a preliminary report two weeks after the incident.

Overvoltage caused the blackout, according to the new analysis. The committee attributed it to multiple factors. The system had insufficient voltage control capacity, there were frequency oscillations, and power plants were disconnected, “in some cases in an apparently improper manner,” the document reads.

Renewables accounted for 82% of power generation mix just before blackout

The Iberian grid crashed at 12:33. Restoration began with energy from France and Morocco and with self-starting hydroelectric plants in the Duero basin and other locations, which formed energy islands. By 22:00, nearly 50% of demand in Spain was met, reaching 99.95% by 7:00 the next day.

At 12:30 on April 28, renewable energy sources accounted for 82% of the electricity generation mix, followed by nuclear power (10%). Gas plants had a 3% share, coal contributed 1%, while cogeneration and waste amounted to a combined 4%.

Data show a drop in solar generation as prices at the power exchange were going negative, and it coincided with a rise in voltages

There was significant voltage volatility in the transmission system in the morning on the day of the blackout, the document’s authors noted, pointing out that such a situation was also registered on April 22 and 24.

The rise in voltages between 10:30 and 11:10 coincided with a drop in solar generation, probably due to the power market signals, as wholesale prices went negative, the report adds. At the same time, the direction of the exchange with France switched from exports to imports.

Voltage control fleet failed to contain chain reaction

At 12:03, there was an atypical frequency oscillation, by 0.6 hertz, causing large voltage fluctuations for 4.42 minutes. Another one, of 0.2 hertz, occurred at 12:16, followed by an equivalent one at 12:19.

Red Eléctrica de España, the transmission system operator (TSO), conducted mitigation measures, which contributed to the rise in voltages, the committee underscored.

Aagesen said the point of no return could have been avoided if voltage control action had been taken earlier. The government controls 20% of the company, which is listed on the Bolsa de Madrid stock exchange.

At 12:32, voltage began to rise rapidly and steadily, and numerous progressive disconnections of generation facilities were recorded. The names of all power plants in the document are blacked out.

A number of units responsible for voltage control produced reactive power, the opposite of what they were supposed to

The chain reaction could not be contained, as each disconnection contributed to further voltage increases, the analysis showed. A drop in frequency resulted in the loss of synchronization with France, tripping the interconnection with the rest of the continent.

The committee stressed that the number of synchronous plants regulating voltage on the day of the incident was the lowest since the beginning of the year. One of the 10 units that Red Eléctrica scheduled the day before experienced an outage on the same afternoon, and the TSO didn’t replace it in time, the analysis reveals.

Moreover, several units in the group did not respond adequately to the TSO’s instructions to reduce the voltage. Some even produced reactive power, the opposite of what was required, contributing to the issue, the committee added.

Some power plants went offline too early

There were disconnections of the generating power plants that occurred before the voltage thresholds in the 400 kV system were exceeded (380 kV and 435 kV), the report finds.

Among the committee’s recommendations is to allow asynchronous installations to apply power electronics solutions to manage voltage fluctuations. The panel proposed boosting demand, flexibility, storage and interconnection capacities.

Photovoltaics with grid-forming inverters, storage can contribute to voltage control

Photovoltaics are already capable of controlling voltage, but regulations did not allow the application of the technology, according to the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), SolarPower Europe, Global Solar Council and Global Renewables Alliance.

In a joint statement that they issued as a reaction to the report, they called for accelerated investment in grid resilience and system flexibility – especially through grid-forming inverters and battery storage.

The associations recalled that Spain ranked 14th last year in Europe in new battery capacity. Less than 250 MWh came online and nearly all were smaller-scale batteries, not at a utility level. It compares to 9 GW of solar power capacity that the country added in 2024.

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May 30, 2025
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CyberGrid is committed to energy transition in SEE with its aggregation solutions

Project Manager and Market Intelligence Specialist Nikolaj Candellari from CyberGrid said at the Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 that the company believes in the energy transition in Southeastern Europe and is contributing with its VPP solutions. The Austrian software developer is open to partnerships with aggregators or future aggregators and the region’s electricity transmission and distribution system operators.

CyberGrid connects different energy resources to different markets. It uses cloud-based flexibility management technology and provides software as a service (SaaS).

“Our core belief is that every energy resource should be renewable, or at least green, and flexible. And to support this transition which we are in at the moment, we have developed our own product called CyberNoc,” Project Manager and Market Intelligence Specialist Nikolaj Candellari said at Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025).

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CyberNoc in real time aggregates the assets – batteries, renewables and even loads and is putting them to the markets, Candellari explained.  In this way, the company supports grid stability and resilience and generates additional revenue streams for owners.

“We are heavily present in the region because we believe in this transition in Southeastern Europe. We helped partners in Croatia, Bulgaria and North Macedonia to connect to different markets,” he stressed and added that the firm has established cooperation in Slovenia and Greece.

Candellari called on aggregators or future aggregators, transition and distribution system operators and all other entities in the electricity system to contact CyberGrid.

The company, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Vienna, is one of the friends of the Belgrade Energy Forum, organized in Serbia’s capital city by Balkan Green Energy News.

CyberNoc enables trading, balancing services

CyberNoc manages battery storage, power plants and consumption, optimizing them in line with market and grid conditions. The platform continuously communicates with the transmission system operator (TSO). It facilitates energy trading as well as the provision of balancing services including frequency control reserve (FCR), automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) and manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR).

Candellari also participated in a panel discussion at BEF 2025 called Market Flexibility: The Backbone of a Resilient Energy System. He recalled that the market went from 15-minute time intervals all the way down to just two seconds and stressed the significance of real-time data for TSOs and other participants.

“I think we can connect everything, including households,” Candellari underscored.

Notably, CyberGrid is part of the SPRINT project, launched at the beginning of the year, for the development of innovative quasi-solid-state sodium-ion batteries for stationary purposes. The endeavor received funding through the Horizon Europe program.

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May 29, 2025
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ACER’s Zinglersen: Integrate electricity markets to bolster flexibility as new era is already here

The surge in the number of hours with negative wholesale electricity prices in Europe made 2024 the second consecutive record year. According to ACER’s Director Christian Zinglersen, it means a new era is here. Speaking at Belgrade Energy Forum – BEF 2025, he called on governments, regulators and system operators to tackle the issue with more flexibility and reap the benefits of integrated electricity markets.

At EUR 81 per MWh, the average day-ahead power price in the European Union and Norway was lower last year than in 2021, when the energy crisis began. This is good news, but there are significant differences in price averages across the continent, Director of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) Christian Zinglersen asserted.

In a keynote speech at Belgrade Energy Forum, BEF 2025, he also pointed out that the percentage of days with significant price swings remained elevated. “This suggests that we need much more short-term flexibility in the system,” Zinglersen said.

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Prices in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary among highest in Europe

In 2024, the share of time when prices were above EUR 150 per MWh landed at 6.1%, compared to 11.3% in the previous year and 66.7% in 2022. The number of days with price swings greater than EUR 50 per MWh accounted for a strong 70.4% of the total, though down from 77.1% in 2023 and 87.8% one year before.

The average price in Romania was virtually unchanged in 2024. It fell only 1% in Bulgaria and 5% in Hungary. Conversely, the drop was the strongest in Sweden, Norway, France and Belgium: 22% to 39%.

The average day-ahead electricity price in Romania was virtually unchanged last year, while in several countries it tumbled by at least 22%

Last year, prices were the highest across Italy, between EUR 106 per MWh and EUR 112 MWh, in Ireland (EUR 109 per MWh), Romania (EUR 104 per MWh), Bulgaria (EUR 103 per MWh) and Greece and Hungary (both EUR 101 per MWh).

Importantly, 2024 was the second consecutive record year in the number of hours with negative wholesale prices. Their share jumped to 2.8% from 1.9%.

“This is very significant and it shows we are already, in my view, in a new era. We’re not just embarking upon it. We’re there,” Zinglersen stressed.

Photo: ACER

Share of very low wholesale prices rallies back to level from 2020

As for the share of time with very low wholesale prices, it surged last year to 8.8%. The level was last seen in 2020, when the pandemic erupted and resulted in an unprecedented demand shock, ACER’s chief noted. He called on governments, regulators and system operators to tackle the issues with more flexibility.

Grid tariffs increasingly need to show what the system needs, in his view: more time nuance and more locational nuance. “That combination of an energy signal and a tariff signal should hopefully enable us to build more of what we need in the right places, as opposed to build what we don’t need, in the wrong places,” Zinglersen stated.

Integrated markets bring benefits

A policy brief that Brussels-based think tank Bruegel published last year pointed to the benefits of the integration of electricity markets. Among other factors, there is more security with fewer backup power plants and more flexibility with less investment in energy storage, together with lower capital costs. In 2022, ACER, based in Ljubljana, estimated benefits from cross-border trade alone at EUR 34 billion in the EU.

“It has very significant security of supply implications as well, to be in a very integrated-type jurisdiction,” Zinglersen underscored. But integrated markets come with tradeoffs, he said.

One of the examples is an incident in 2021 that split the Continental Europe synchronous area into two parts for an hour and reserves were pulled from across the continent. “But you can also bring the system much more quickly back together again,” Zinglersen said at the conference.

The same goes for the June 2024 blackout in the Balkans.

There are many solutions in Europe, but they are not evenly distributed

ACER’s director also recalled the power price decorrelation that affected Southeastern Europe and Hungary from July to September. He attributed some of the spikes in day-ahead prices to the lack of short-term flexibility, for instance batteries.

There are lots of technical solutions and frameworks in place across Europe, but they are not very evenly distributed, he added.

Zinglersen pointed to the opportunities and benefits of further integrating the electricity market of the Western Balkans region and the EU.

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May 29, 2025
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NGEN showcases solutions at BEF 2025 for decentralized electricity grid of tomorrow

Slovenia-based NGEN, widely regarded as the most innovative energy company in the SEE region, is expanding throughout Europe with its software platforms and equipment, as well as battery energy storage systems for decentralized grids that enable scaling up the decarbonization of the electricity sector. Co-Founder and CEO Roman Bernard said at the Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 that the company is establishing a digital endpoint for every network element. It enables real-time control over production and consumption, preventing blackouts and providing cybersecurity. At the conference, NGEN presented its services for the construction and operation of BESS and access to all segments of the electricity market.

In NGEN’s vision, the electricity system becomes fully digital and decentralized, with every house and business taking an active part in it.

Grid congestion is becoming more frequent, limiting the current rapid deployment of renewables. Most of Europe has centralized networks, where energy flows in one direction, from large power plants to consumers. Grid balancing is still conducted on a 15-minute basis, which is too slow for real-time demand.

NGEN has created platforms for energy that is produced, stored and consumed locally. It is developing a more efficient and reliable environment that can keep up with the scaling up of renewable energy technologies.

Photo: NGEN

NGEN has answers for all challenges of power system

The Slovenia-based company is tackling all current challenges that the power system is facing, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Roman Bernard said at Belgrade Energy Forum – BEF 2025. NGEN, the technology sponsor of this year’s conference, operates in nine European countries.

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Pointing to the pace of increase in solar and wind power plant capacity over the past years, Bernard said a centralized system wouldn’t be able to support the overall production and consumption anymore. “We want to make a digital endpoint for every unit that is included in the network. Through it we can communicate and raise or decrease consumption or production,” he explained.

Bernard: Cybersecurity is the most important part of digitalization

It enables control over the system, as otherwise it is in risk of blackouts, while such a transformation also brings significant savings in infrastructure, according to Bernard. He also stressed cybersecurity as the most important part of digitalization.

The CEO of NGEN, which stands for next generation, added that the sector needs to be further regulated across Europe to facilitate the construction of a new kind of infrastructure, as well as to motivate the corporate sector to get involved.

The company’s representatives Marco Scholz and Patrick Simon held a presentation at BEF 2025

Instant frequency response preventing cascading blackouts

In Bernard’s view, now is the time for battery energy storage systems (BESS), after a massive renewables capacity was added to the system in the last seven or eight years. The CEO was one of the panelists at BEF 2025 in a session on flexibility services called Market Flexibility: The Backbone of a Resilient Energy System.

NGEN developed its own software as well as hardware for running decentralized systems, cybersecurity and access to all segments of the energy market. The software has never gone down so far, its representatives said during their presentation at the conference. The firm is a contractor for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of BESS, also providing maintenance and operation.

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Its intelligent software ESGP, Energy Smart Grid Platform, provides instant frequency response preventing cascading blackouts. NGEN’s digital platform, called SG Connect, reacts automatically, providing backup in the event of a failure in under 20 milliseconds, enabling real-time grid balancing. At the same time, it monitors and manages in two-second intervals, through the NGEN Synaptic artificial intelligence (AI controller).

It is a plug-and-play module, installed at energy assets, connecting them to ESGP, the transmission system operator (TSO) and all relevant markets, the company said. On the customer side is the SG Connect application.

NGEN has projects of 2 GWh in Europe under development or in construction. As for notable operational facilities, it installed a BESS in Kidričevo in Slovenia, with 35 MW in operating power and 70 MWh in capacity. The facility is about to get an extension of 70 MW – 140 MWh.

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May 26, 2025
by in News

Battery storage market in SEE emerging, Western Balkans lagging behind with positive prospects

The deployment of battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Southeast Europe is progressing at an uneven pace. State subsidies and financing mechanisms have enabled the rapid implementation of BESS solutions in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, while markets in the Western Balkans are lagging behind. However, the outlook remains positive, as experiences from neighboring markets and best practices from other parts of the European Union can help overcome initial challenges and streamline the deployment process. This was highlighted by participants of the panel dedicated to BESS at the Belgrade Energy Forum.

Among the technologies required for the energy transition, battery energy storage systems (BESS) stand out as a key factor for integrating electricity from intermittent renewable sources – wind and solar power – into the grid. There are few such facilities in Southeastern Europe and the segment is yet to even be fully regulated in the narrower Western Balkans region. The panelists at a session called Energy storage system market in SEE: trends and forecasts, at Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025), outlined the trends in the budding market.

There are more and more cases of low and negative hourly prices in the wholesale electricity market in the region, providing a clear business case for BESS investments. In addition, the grid is often overloaded on weekends and holidays when solar and wind power production is high, given the weak demand.

Managing Director of Go2Power Consulting Goran Vukojević, who moderated the discussion, warned that negative prices may jeopardize system stability as well, if operators of power plants disconnect them from the grid at the same time, to avoid costs.

He highlighted the preparations in Serbia’s transmission system operator Elektromreža Srbije (EMS) for auctions for ancillary services and praised the company for transparency in regulating the competitive process. The other option for battery operators is to participate in the open market.

Managing Director of Go2Power Consulting Goran Vukojević moderated the panel discussion

Region seen with 9 GW of BESS operating power in 2030

Ioanna Barouni from Aurora Energy Research said a total of 40 GW of solar and wind power is expected to be online at the end of 2025 in the SEE region, comprising 12 countries, including Hungary. In 2030, the level is expected to reach 70 GW, which is expected to be doubled to 145 GW by mid-century. As for BESS, projections stand at 9 GW in 2030 and 25 GW in 2050.

Barouni: We miss flexibility and ancillary services for transmission and distribution system operators

The countries of the region are retiring power plants that use fossil fuels, a firm capacity, in Barouni’s words, while adding renewables. “It’s not very easy to predict how the generation profile is going to be during the day, so we miss flexibility and we miss ancillary services for TSOs and DSOs,” she said.

The gap between power prices for midday and the evening is gradually increasing. Barouni explained that batteries “create some artificial demand and absorb these low prices.” At peak demand and with less renewables, a battery can replace expensive fossil fuels, lowering the price.

Ioanna Barouni from Aurora Energy Research (pictured left) and Head of Specialized Lending at UniCredit Bank Serbia Svetlana Cerović

Serbia preparing auctions for ancillary services

Division Manager of transmission system operator (TSO) EMS Nikola Tošić acknowledged that Serbia is preparing auctions for ancillary services. He revealed that there would probably be one auction for 70% of the needed reserve in the first year. The next rounds would be more frequent, shifting toward daily auctions for balancing capacity.

In the verification process, EMS’s System Operation Department will first test the battery, Tošić added. State-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) already provides ancillary services to the TSO, so it won’t require tests, he asserted.

Serbian law defines ancillary services the same as European Union does

EMS drafted the new grid code, and it will publish the draft balancing market code for public discussion soon, according to Tošić. He said the domestic law defines ancillary services in the same way as the EU defines them in its legislation. One part is balancing services: frequency containment reserve (FCR, primary), automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR, secondary) and manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR, tertiary). The other part are non-frequency services – energy.

“We think that it would be good to incentivize the periods of the year or periods of day when the needed amount of reserve is more attractive or more in demand,” Tošić said.

Market Division Manager of EMS Nikola Tošić

Fortis Energy moving ahead with battery investments regardless of government support schemes

Fortis Energy’s Chief Executive Officer for Eastern Europe Nikola Oklobdžija considers the lack of regulation to be the biggest challenge for developers. An investor can currently only focus on charging the batteries when the prices are low and sell when they are high, he underscored.

The Turkey-based company develops photovoltaic, wind power and BESS projects in the region. The first bigger investments in renewable electricity plants with energy storage are the ones that will break the ice, in Oklobdžija’s opinion.

“Of course, it helps if you have a CfD contract, so the banks will look at it more favorably,” he stated. Oklobdžija added that companies need to be able to present revenue to the lenders and what the fees are for renting the capacity or providing different services.

Bankability depends on state support and PPA contracts, cash flow models and insurance

In the meantime, Fortis is examining the experiences in Bulgaria and Greece, which have already held auctions for standalone batteries. Financing a project is easier with a CfD – contract for difference, but the company is determined to push ahead anyway, Oklobdžija stressed.

In North Macedonia it commissioned a solar power plant in Oslomej and recently contracted a BESS to be added to the facility. Oklobdžija said it wasn’t a requirement but that Fortis opted for energy storage because of market pressure with prices and occasional curtailments, like during Easter last month.

The introduction of ancillary services would facilitate the development for standalone battery systems, he explained.

Fortis Energy’s CEO for Eastern Europe Nikola Oklobdžija

Cerović: First there will be more projects for colocated BESS units than for standalone facilities

Head of Specialized Lending at UniCredit Bank Serbia Svetlana Cerović highlighted the intensive activity in Germany and Italy, for instance, but also in neighboring Romania. UniCredit is present in those markets and is analyzing the development of the battery storage market, she pointed out, arguing that the best practices in the EU are the best way for building and financing battery storage.

Cerović said there would first be more projects in the region for BESS colocated with renewable energy plants than standalone units.

She suggested that the proposed investments that include storage should be better pondered at the next renewable energy auction in Serbia. It is in the country’s interest to enable providing flexibility and to support the projects, she said.

There may be a rationale for subsidizing prosumers to add storage in Serbia, Cerović said. Turning to small-scale projects, she expressed the belief that power purchase agreements (PPAs) are “convenient” for them. She is recommending dedicating a certain capacity for the category at the next auction in the country.

The first projects in Serbia, conditioned by energy storage requirements for a grid connection, are in the process of negotiating financing, according to Cerović.

Fire protection is especially significant for insurers

Renewable Energy Insurance Broker (REIB) has insured some 4 GWh of energy storage capacity in Bulgaria and just as much elsewhere in the world, Business Development Manager Dimitar Dimitrov said. Developers should contact insurance companies when the design is done, as well as for cargo insurance, he suggested and added it is particularly important for projects that get subsidies.

“We’re not only insurance brokers, but we’re also investors, which helps us understand a bit more about the clients’ needs, and what we can definitely do more in cases of coverage. Understanding clients’ needs helps us also prevent risks that could occur during certain stages,” Dimitrov stated.

Most insurers prefer at least a six-meter distance between containers or rows of three to four containers holding batteries, he said. It is the most important factor in fire protection, in Dimitrov’s opinion. When the distance is shorter than three meters, a firewall is required for insurance, he explained.

REIB’s Business Development Manager Dimitar Dimitrov

The next segment is construction insurance. For insurance companies, it is not a higher risk profile, Dimitrov asserted. Next, he recommended operational risk insurance including coverage for business disruption, and insurance against cyberattacks. In such events, the grid connection can be damaged, the company’s representative pointed out. “Insurance policies are definitely bankable,” he added.

Bulgaria has completed its tenders for state support to BESS combined with renewable energy plants, and for standalone units. But even before subsidies, batteries have been delivered and facilities are under construction, Dimitrov stressed. Many photovoltaic projects in Bulgaria have emerged in the past few months and most of them include BESS, he said.

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May 26, 2025
by in News

BEF 2025: Technologies for energy transition are here, getting cheaper every day

Technologies for the energy transition already exist, and their use is increasing thanks to falling costs. Investors and bankers claim they are ready to invest and that money isn’t an issue. The missing part are upgraded transmission grids, along with policies and regulations to integrate everything into a suitable environment, according to investors and lenders gathered at Belgrade Energy Forum 2025.

The third Belgrade Energy Forum, BEF 2025, welcomed four hundred participants from more than 30 countries from the region, Europe, and beyond. The two-day conference was organized by Balkan Green Energy News.

Participants in the panel Energy revolution underway – uniting efforts to deliver green, intelligent, and sustainable energy solutions were Maja Turković, Senior Vice President of CWP Europe, Aleš Prešern, Vice President and Head of Southeast Europe of Siemens Energy, and Christian Beynio, Head of Advisory of Kommunalkredit Austria AG.

According to panel moderator Mirza Kušljugić, a member of the Board of the Regional Center for Sustainable Energy Transition (RESET) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the energy transition is actually a revolution, given the technological changes.

“The region is still burdened by tradition. We know the transition is inevitable, but we aren’t fully aware that it will be disruptive,” Kušljugić stated.

Technology is here, and so is financing

Mirza Kušljugić, Aleš Prešern and Maja Turković (photo: Balkan Green Energy News)

Maja Turković, Senior Vice President of CWP Europe, stressed that technology, currently undergoing a revolution, is the best card the world has in the transition. She even suggested that financing isn’t a problem and that there are more financial resources available than projects qualified to receive funding.

However, she is surprised by the rapid growth in solar power installations. Turković argued that market-based projects cannot achieve double-digit internal rates of return on equity. Part of the explanation may lie in the fact that panel prices have dropped by 60% over two years.

Battery prices have also fallen. The largest drop was last year, 40%, with a further 5% decline this year alone, according to Turković. Prices have slipped below EUR 100,000 per MWh.

Turković: Regarding CAPEX and technology, we’re ready

The latest trend is the integration of batteries with solar power plants. While transmission system operators in the region still don’t allow it, in some countries a grid connection approved for solar can also be used for batteries. “Regarding CAPEX and technology, we’re ready,” Turković underlined.

Aleš Prešern, Vice President and Head of Southeast Europe in Siemens Energy, is particularly impressed with the speed of change.

“We who are working in the energy sector are used to very slow changes. Energy was a conservative industry. In 2004, 1 GW of solar was built, but now data shows that it is how much is installed in one day. Batteries cost EUR 1 million per MWh not that long ago, and now they are ten times cheaper,” he noted.

Prešern: Transmission networks are the bottleneck of the transition

They are indeed dramatic changes, for which the existing power system wasn’t prepared. It is clear why Siemens Energy, as a technology company, considers transmission networks to be the bottleneck in the transition, Prešern said.

To illustrate the slowness of grid investments, he pointed to Austria, as one of the examples, where it took 10 years to build one important segment of the 400 kV network.

Both Turković and Prešern agree that nowadays the keyword is flexibility.

Maja Turković and Christian Beynio (photo: Balkan Green Energy News)

She explained there are operating battery management systems at low voltage levels that incorporate artificial intelligence and use market signals for activation when prices are low.

Prešern added that the required stability through balancing could be provided by gas power plants. Siemens Energy has never seen such high demand for gas turbines like today, he asserted.

Beynio: Don’t forget the non-banking institutions when looking in new financing

“If you ask about availability of financing, yes, it’s there,” Christian Beynio, Head of Advisory at Kommunalkredit Austria AG, confirmed. In his view, prices or, rather, the drop in prices of equipment, is the biggest innovation. Earlier, he said, it was a completely different game, heavily subsidized, while nowadays no subsidies are required per se.

The trend that Kommunalkredit Austria AG identified is the pooling of smaller assets, and a shift from financing projects toward financing developers and companies as corporates. It is yet to come to the region, he added.

Investment in grids, in his words, has to be initiated by the government. They have two solutions – go to the sovereign debt market or engage private investors. “Don’t forget the non-banking institutions when looking for new financing. This is a trend across Europe, and it will be relevant for the Balkans,” Beynio advised.

Battery projects won’t go so smoothly

Aleš Prešern (photo: Balkan Green Energy News)

Maja Turković expressed the belief that installing batteries won’t go as smoothly as solar. The main reason is the difficulty of securing a stable cash flow for batteries, unlike for production facilities. Cash flow enables financing, so batteries will likely need to be financed with internal funds, she underlined.

Turković noted that batteries are best monetized by providing system services and arbitrage, but pointed out they can also participate in capacity mechanisms, a scheme that could involve power purchase agreements (PPAs).

She said the development of the regulatory framework should be faster, to facilitate investments in batteries. Investors are ready to commit their funds to battery installation, and everyone in the market agrees that batteries are essential, Turković stressed.

Prešern: People and not technology are a guarantee that networks will exist and function properly

Amid the widespread discussions about technology and regulations, Aleš Prešern highlighted another issue. Energy, in his opinion, has always been an exciting sector, but the message hasn’t been getting through to young people in recent years. It was the case not only in the region but also in Europe, and beyond, leading to a shortage of skilled personnel.

However, he expressed the belief that things are changing and enthusiasm is returning. Prešern even suggested it could be a major advantage for the region, well known for its high-quality engineers.

Siemens Energy strives to employ as many good engineers as possible because, ultimately, people and not technology are a guarantee that networks will exist and function properly, he stressed.

The solution is also in using new technologies to better utilize existing grids

Christian Beynio (photo: Balkan Green Energy News)

The combination of rapid changes in the energy sector and slow investments in the grids threatens to put the transition to a standstill.

Better utilization of existing infrastructure could be the solution. Siemens Energy fits well there, as several years ago it established a division called Digital Grid. According to Prešern, the idea was to be quicker in data utilization, something that other sectors like automotive have long advanced, while energy has lagged.

The company recently acquired a Slovenian-Austrian firm that produces sensors installed directly on power lines, a technology called dynamic line rating. The devices provide real-time data about the conditions in power lines, potentially enabling their use beyond original design limits.

“With this technology, we believe we can increase the capacity of existing networks by an average of 30%,” Prešern revealed.

New technologies have changed bankers’ jobs as well

New technologies have changed bankers’ jobs as well, Christian Beynio admitted. He recalled that it was easy to finance wind farms in Serbia because they had feed-in tariffs from the government. The only risk element was the wind blowing or not blowing, Beynio said.

Nowadays there are merchant power producers that combine their facilities with batteries and use algorithms in electricity trading, he added. It means bankers need to sit with market consultants to identify all outcomes, he stressed.

“You won’t find singular cash flow streams. It’s going to be multi-dimensional and people simply need to adjust. It’s going to be more short term also on the lending side. It’s rather going to be corporate lending to people and companies who know what they are doing and can credibly demonstrate that with a track record. That is the digitalization impact we see”, Beynio said.

Maja Turković (photo: Balkan Green Energy News)
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May 21, 2025
by in News

Low consumption causes grid failure, power outage in North Macedonia

A grid failure caused a brief power outage in North Macedonia in the early hours on Sunday, May 18. Disruptions at the affected 400/110 kV transformer stations were triggered by high voltage levels in the grid, caused by low consumption, typical for nighttime hours and weekends at this time of year, according to a statement by the country’s transmission system operator, MEPSO.

MEPSO said its teams restored normal electricity supply in about an hour and were working to fully normalize the stability of the power system.

According to the update, grid instability caused by low consumption at nighttime and on weekends is a problem shared by almost all transmission system operators in the region and around Europe.

Bulgaria’s energy minister: Bulgaria played the crucial role in stabilizing North Macedonia’s grid

At the same time, Bulgarian Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov said that a grid failure had affected several countries in Southeast Europe, though not Bulgaria. He added that his country’s balancing facilities were crucial in stabilizing North Macedonia’s grid, restoring supply, and preventing the crisis from spreading further. In Bulgaria, the Electricity System Operator (ESO) is responsible for the transmission network.

He claimed Serbia and Croatia have also experienced problems due to a lack of balancing facilities. “The colleagues from Serbia also had certain difficulties in the morning hours, and we managed to balance them out,” Stankov stated.

EMS has denied that any disruptions or outages occurred in Serbia

However, Serbia’s transmission system operator Elektromreža Srbije (EMS) told Balkan Green Energy news that the country’s grid did not experience any disruptions or outages and that there was no need for assistance from Bulgaria. EMS said it would not specifically comment on the Bulgarian minister’s statement because it was unclear what it was referring to.

In its reply to Balkan Green Energy News, EMS underscores that there were no consequences for the transmission system of the Republic of Serbia, explaining that EMS, at the request of MEPSO, to facilitate the repairs in North Macedonia, temporarily shut down the 400 kV transmission line between the Vranje 4 transformer station and the North Macedonian border.

Renewables had no share in the problem, according to Stankov

Stankov also stressed that solar power plants did not play a role in the crisis, unlike in Portugal and Spain in late April. The grid failure occurred in the early morning hours and amid low renewable energy generation, he said, adding that “renewable energy had no share in the problem.”

Bulgaria plans to build three new pumped storage hydropower plants

Bulgaria’s system remained stable thanks to its generating and balancing capacities, in Stankov’s view. He told the press that the country possesses 90% of all the reactive energy compensation capabilities in Southeast Europe.

Bulgaria is working with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to build at least three pumped storage hydropower plants in the Rhodope region, aimed at further enhancing regional grid resilience, Stankov pointed out. The minister vowed to keep the country’s grid on standby to support other regional networks in need of stabilization.

Stankov revealed that one such project is being developed for the Vacha dam. The other two pumped storage hydropower plants are planned to be built on the Dospat and Batak dams.

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