The Ministry monitors compliance with energy regulations through the Energy Inspectorate of the Republic of Serbia and supervises the design, construction and maintenance of the electricity generating stations as well as the quality of the electricity supply.
The spring of 2023 brought significant regulatory changes in the renewable energy sector in Serbia. The Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources was amended, and several new bylaws were adopted, including the long-awaited decree that regulates balancing responsibility, writes Tamara Zejak, Senior Lawyer at Petrikić & Partneri AOD in
With the proposed amendments to the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources, Serbia will promote the introduction of energy storage facilities, Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović said.
The Republic of Serbia adopted a new legislative package consisting of Amendments to Law of Energy1, Law on Energy Efficiency and Rational Use of Energy 2, Law on Use of Renewable Energy Sources 3, Amendments to Law
Electric energy storage is introduced in the energy system of the Republic of Serbia by the latest amendments to the Energy Law. For this energy activity energy license is not required. Pursuant to the Energy Law, an energy entity performing the activity of electric energy stor-age may, inter alia, provide storage services to the others market
The spring of 2023 brought significant regulatory changes in the renewable energy sector in Serbia
The Amendments to the Law were primarily aimed at resolving the backlog of requests to connect to the transmission system submitted after the adoption of the Law, which resulted from insufficient transmission system capacity. They were also aimed at relieving the guaranteed supplier of its obligation to assume responsibility for balancing all renewable energy projects. Additionally, the Amendments to the Law include reforms and changes in the auction procedure for awarding market premiums, the permitted installed capacity of a prosumer’s facility, as well as the connection to the distribution system of power plants using variable renewable energy sources.
The following is a brief summary highlighting the most important updates.
The Amendments to the Law stipulate that the guaranteed supplier (currently EPS a.d. Beograd) is only obliged to assume balancing responsibility for privileged producers in the market premium system (and feed-in tariffs), based on a contract model included in the balancing responsibility decree.
A privileged producer in the market premium system is required to accurately forecast the production of electricity, as it determines the balancing costs to be paid to the guaranteed supplier. The balancing costs include:
In order to overcome the deadlock in resolving requests for connection to the transmission grid, the Amendments to the Law now define the obligation of the transmission system operator to prepare, as part of the transmission system development plan, an analysis of production and transmission system adequacy. The analysis should include an assessment of whether the reserves for system balancing are lacking, and to what extent, in the connection process for all power plants that use variable renewable energy sources, as well as a conclusion regarding the risks to the safe operation of the power system and the need to postpone the connection of power plants using variable renewable energy sources.
If the adequacy analysis indicates risks to the safe operation of the power system due to a lack of reserves for system balancing, the transmission system operator may decide to implement a deferral, which includes postponement of dealing with a connection request until the adequacy analysis shows sufficient system balancing reserves in the power system, allowing all power plants subject to that limitation to be connected to the power system without compromising its safe operation.
Additionally, the Amendments to the Law provide that the postponement of connection to the transmission system does not apply to power plants using variable renewable energy sources if the applicant for the connection:
The regulatory scope for provision of auxiliary services must be at least 20% of the installed active power capacity of a power plant using variable renewable energy sources. If the producer incorporates battery storage, the capacity of that storage must be at least 0.4 MWh/MW of the installed power capacity of the power plant.
The transmission system operator is required to adopt the transmission system development plan, complete with adequacy analysis, within 90 days from the date of the Amendments to the Law coming into force (i.e. by 5 August 2023), while the Energy Agency is obligated to issue consent to the harmonized transmission system development plan within 60 days of the date of submission by the transmission system operator.
Instead of the previous involvement of the Energy Agency in determining market premiums, the process is now entirely in the hands of the Government of Serbia. For auction purposes, the government determines the maximum offered price for electricity per MWh, while for reconstructed power plants, a separate maximum price that may be offered per MWh for electricity is set. According to the maximum price decision passed by the Government of Serbia at the beginning of June 2023, the maximum offered price for wind projects is EUR 105/MWh, while EUR 90/MWh is set for solar projects.
Furthermore, the Amendments to the Law introduce changes in case bidders participate in auctions only with a portion of a power plant''s capacity. Namely, if an offer for the allocation of a market premium relates to a portion of a power plant''s capacity, that portion must represent at least 70% of the permitted power plant capacity.
The Amendments to the Law provide that, in order to obtain the status of a prosumer, the installed capacity of the production facility cannot exceed:
However, in order to mitigate the consequences of these amendments and address the business sector''s dissatisfaction, the final provisions of the Amendments to the Law stipulate that prosumers who are not households (e.g. companies) may install a production facility of up to 5 MW if they initiate the connection procedure by 1 July 2024.
Prosumers who had obtained that status before the Amendments to the Law came into force are not subject to restrictions on permitted installed capacity.
In view of the great number of requests to connect to the transmission system and insufficient capacities, investors in renewable energy power plants resorted to splitting large projects into smaller ones that would be connected to the distribution system. In this regard, the Amendments to the Law have limited the maximum capacity of a power plant using variable renewable energy sources to 10 MW per connection.
The recent legislative changes have enabled the Government of Serbia and the MoE to initiate two essential processes aimed at fostering the growth of renewable energy projects in Serbia.
First, on 4 May 2023, the Government of Serbia initiated the procedure for selecting a strategic partner for the construction of 1 GW of self-balancing solar power plants to be owned and operated by the state-owned power utility EPS a.d. Beograd. The public call is expected to be published in the early summer of this year.
About Energy storage regulations serbia
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Energy storage regulations serbia have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
When you're looking for the latest and most efficient Energy storage regulations serbia for your PV project, our website offers a comprehensive selection of cutting-edge products designed to meet your specific requirements. Whether you're a renewable energy developer, utility company, or commercial enterprise looking to reduce your carbon footprint, we have the solutions to help you harness the full potential of solar energy.
By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Energy storage regulations serbia featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
Related Contents
