Serbia plans more than €14bn in energy investments through 2035

Serbia plans to invest more than €14bn in its energy sector between 2028 and 2035, including in new generation capacity, power grids, energy storage and balancing capacity, a mining and energy ministry adviser said on September 22, Tanjug reported.

The investment cycle will include preparations for a nuclear power plant, new renewable generation and the development of pumped-storage hydropower plants, Milan Aleksić, the ministry's adviser for capital investments, said at a conference organised by the Serbian National Committee of the International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIRED).

The government plans to invest almost €2bn in the electricity distribution network, Aleksić said, as the system prepares to accommodate increased renewable generation.

"By the end of this decade, the goal is for Serbia to get about 3.5 GW of new capacity from solar and wind energy," Aleksić said, according to the ministry's website.

Serbia aims for renewable sources to account for about half of electricity generation, he said, adding that the expansion would require upgrades to both transmission and distribution networks.

The plans include the Bistrica and Đerdap 3 pumped-storage hydropower projects, which together are expected to provide 2,460 MW of new balancing capacity, Aleksić said.

Work on Bistrica has intensified this year, with technical documentation nearing completion and preparatory work, including expropriation and environmental protection activities, under way, he said.

The project is being developed with Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and conditions for issuing a construction permit for the main facility are expected to be met early next year, Aleksić said.

A tender for planning documents, feasibility studies and an environmental assessment for the Đerdap 3 project is also expected to be awarded soon, he said.

Serbia is also considering nuclear power as it seeks to reduce its dependence on coal and secure stable electricity supplies.

The government has lifted a decades-old moratorium on nuclear power construction, completed a preliminary technical study on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and established the National Body for the Implementation of the Nuclear Energy Programme, Aleksić said.