UAE state-owned renewables developer Masdar has established a joint venture (JV) with the national power utility of Montenegro to develop “large-scale” clean energy projects in the country.
Masdar and Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) signed the 50/50 JV yesterday, confirming they will look to develop solar PV, wind, hydropower, pumped hydro energy storage, standalone battery energy storage systems and hybrid solutions in Montenegro. The companies did not provide a target for nameplate generation capacity of any technologies.
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As well as expanding renewable energy generation in Montenegro, Masdar said the JV would enable exporting renewable electricity to the Western Balkans and southern Europe, including through an existing subsea interconnection with Italy.
“Europe is a strategic growth market for Masdar as we advance towards our 100GW by 2030 target,” said Masdar CEO Jameel Al Ramahi. “This milestone supports Masdar’s continued portfolio growth and shared ambition to accelerate renewable energy development in Montenegro and the wider Balkan region.”
The Western Balkans—comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo—are forecast to be a major growth market foo renewable energy over the next two decades. Last year, Aurora Energy Research forecast that almost two-thirds of new power capacity in the region through 2040 will come from renewable sources.
In October last year, PV Tech reported from the Large Scale Solar Southern Europe conference, where industry experts said that the growth and momentum behind energy storage and co-location in the wider European market would begin to spread to the Balkan region. In February, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) backed an investment in a 270MW/72MWh solar-plus-storage project in Serbia.
Masdar has expanded its influence beyond its native UAE through a series of JVs. Perhaps most notably, it recently inked a deal with French oil major TotalEnergies to build US$2.2 billion worth of renewable energy capacity across nine Asian countries. It has also collaborated with France’s Engie, the Turkish government and Indonesian electricity provider PLN on major solar and energy storage developments.
