According to the document titled Energy Security of Serbia, the country plans to build solar power plants, wind farms, pumped-storage hydropower plants, as well as gas-fired power plants, storage batteries and hydrogen facilities to implement its energy transitions and ensure energy security.
The document sets a 49.6% target for the share of renewables by 2040, compared to 26.3% at the end of 2020. The plan is to achieve climate neutrality and decarbonize the economy by 2050. Accordingly, coal-fired plants would be phased out by 2050 but not before there is enough green power capacity to replace them.
The short-term steps include the establishment of the company called Green Energy of Serbia, tasked with building new green power plants as well as the modernisation of the transmission and distribution grids. The government of Serbia also suggests increasing the state’s stake in large renewable energy projects.
Currently, Serbia has 2,900 MW of renewable power plants, of which 2,350 MW are hydropower plants and the rest are wind farms.
To replace all of its coal-fired plants, with a combined installed capacity of 4,400 MW, Serbia needs to build 8,000-10,000 MW of wind, solar, and hydropower plants. However, to reach the greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050, it is necessary to build a total of 21,000-22,000 MW of renewable capacity.
Two pumped-storage hydropower plants are planned, Đerdap 3 and Bistrica, with a total capacity of about 2,500 MW, while hydropower plants with a capacity of 300 MW could also be built on the rivers Ibar and Morava.
It is estimated that there is a possibility of public-private partnerships for the construction of wind farms with a capacity of about 3,700 MW. About 11,000 MW of solar panels can be installed on rooftops and a further 1,400 MW on land owned by power utility EPS.
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