Montenegro will launch renewable energy auctions in early 2025

According to Biljana Ivanović, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Montenegro plans to start the first auctions of market premiums for the construction of power plants using renewable energy sources at the beginning of next year.

The Ministry of Energy and Mining of Montenegro is currently preparing four draft laws for the electricity sector, which aim to fully harmonize the regulatory framework with the European Union. Three of the laws will contain provisions transposing the third and fourth EU energy packages into Montenegrin legislation.

At the EPCG NET conference, Ivanović noted that one of the laws is the Law on the Use of Electricity from Renewable Sources, the work of which is in its final phase and can be expected soon in the Montenegrin parliament. She said it was very important to have a law regulating the implementation of renewable energy development policies, according to a report by state-owned utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), the conference organizer.

The new regulation introduces agreements with strategic investors

She plans, she said, to announce the first auctions of market premiums at the beginning of next year with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Interestingly, the bank helps the ministry prepare the law.

“These auctions will be conducted either as part of the three-year plan that we are obliged to adopt under the Renewable Sources Act, or independently of the plan if we fail to adopt it by the end of the year,” Ivanovic said.

In her opinion, the law leaves room for partnerships with strategic investors if national targets are not achieved through auctions or if there is a need for additional amounts of balancing energy.

The law also allows manufacturers to enter into PPAs

The regulation also provides that producers directly enter into agreements with end users or sign power purchase agreements (PPAs), with the support of the ministry.

“It is in the national interest to gradually withdraw from incentive systems and create conditions for the integration of renewable energy producers on the market. The next goal is to achieve national goals,” Ivanovic emphasized.

Taking into account that the green transformation is a long-term and very expensive undertaking, there is currently discussion on how to solve the social problem – in addition to the energy problem.

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