Serbia: Memorandum Signed with China on Investments in Renewable Energy

Serbia is serious about ensuring its energy security. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, instead of refusing to import Russian gas, which is very cheap, is trying to increase purchases. New agreements have been signed with the Russian state-owned company Rosatom, which is building the latest-generation nuclear power plant in Serbia. The Belgrade government is working to diversify its energy supply sources, and on January 26, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic signed a memorandum of understanding with two major Chinese state-owned companies, Shanghai Fengling Renewables and Zijin Bor Copper, to attract billions of dollars of investment to strengthen renewable energy sources.

“With the signing of the memorandum today, we start the implementation of the largest renewable energy project in Serbia, which will be carried out by two Chinese companies co-owned by the state,” the Serbian minister said after the signing ceremony. As Djedovic-Handanovic explained to reporters, “the plan involves the construction of a super production site with a total capacity of 2 gigawatts near the town of Bor.” The project will be divided into two parts. One area will be allocated for a wind farm capable of generating 1500 megawatts of power, while the second area will become a solar farm and will produce another 500 megawatts of electricity.

The Serbian-Chinese project also involves the construction of an innovative plant for the production of “green” hydrogen with a capacity of about 30 thousand tons of the precious environment-friendly fuel per year. And as the Serbian minister finally stated, “the total investment in the project, which should be completed by 2028, will amount to about 2 billion euros.”