Photo Credit: Filip Trpchevski
On 8 December 2022, the very first Solarplaza Summit Balkans took place in Zagreb, Croatia, gathering regional and international developers, experts, investors, utilities, policymakers, asset owners, and manufacturers. The conference was hosted by Solarplaza, the central platform for the global PV industry, organizing events since 2004, with the mission to make solar and renewable energy more accessible throughout the world. The reason for the meeting was to discuss the massive solar potential of the Balkans and find the solution to the challenges the regional market faces, with a good perspective to keep incentivizing PV development.
The event consisted of four sessions. The first aimed at getting up to date with PV in the Balkans, and our Partner Petar Mitrović moderated its panel. It shed light on the leading strategies to expand solar PV capacity in the region, discussing the topics of the major regulations impacting both current and new players in solar, and the decarbonization process from the solar perspective. Speakers were Julius Ecke, from Enervis Energy Advisors, Lorenc Gardami from Tirana Business University, Dragica Sekulić from the Montenegrin Parliament, and Megi Maglica from InterEnergo. They tried to answer the question of whether we can ensure a smooth and gradual transition from coal to renewables.
Though the answer to it is rather complex and ambiguous, the speakers agreed it is crucial to improve the investment climate for large-scale projects and ensure the bankability of PV plants in the region. The current regional market potential is reflected in nearly 2 GW of installed PV capacity, while the experts forecast a realistic number of over 26 GGW.
The three following sessions touched upon ensuring successful PV project development and grid connection, financing and structuring solar projects and power sales, and operating sustainable solar assets in a volatile power market. The speakers identified key trends from a developer’s and financial perspectives, as well as the challenges of strained power grids and storage issues, RES capacity, and the PPA framework.
It seems that the time is ripe for the Balkans to go photovoltaic. Its countries rank among the best PV solar power capacity in Europe, having the high potential to shake up the regional and global solar industry for good, and Solarplaza Summit Balkans proved it once again. We’re looking forward to having it as the annual regional gathering in the years ahead.
*Partner refers to Independent Attorney at Law in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners.
The information in this document does not constitute legal advice on any particular matter and is provided for general informational purposes only.
