Serbia signed a significant contract; Vučić: "In five years - a disaster, this is the way to ensure it" PHOTO

The contract for the implementation of the Project for the construction of self-balanced solar power plants in Serbia, which will provide one gigawatt of newly installed power through solar panels, was signed today with the consortium of companies Hyundai Engineering and UGT Renewables, in the presence of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.

"I am honored to be present at the signing of this contract today. The most important work that we have to complete by 2027 concerns the energy future of Serbia. We consume 34 terawatts of electricity annually, of which we lose 4 terawatts on the grid, due to lack of investment in the grid. One gigawatt capacity is planned here, of course the installed power, because not every day is sunny, but the estimate is that we will be able to produce somewhere around 1.6 to 1.8 terawatts, which is incredibly important for our system, because that is exactly the amount of electricity we import every year, and we usually import at times when it is quite expensive and when it is most in demand on the Western Balkans market," said Vučić in his speech.

"This is electricity that belongs to the citizens of this country. During the project's duration of 30 years, we will save 3.6 billion at today's prices. In this investment, the most important thing is the battery system. For us, this changes the percentage of RES compared to what we get from fossil fuels, which means cleaner air. This means that we will pay less EU taxes because all companies that want to export to the EU will have to have a certificate on the use of green energy in production," he added.

"In 5 years, you will have a disaster in the entire region in terms of electricity. It will be very difficult to get electricity, and this is the way to ensure it," he pointed out.

"This is something that seriously helps Serbia to advance and to look to the future with a certain calmness," concluded Vučić.

"This is another signal to all investors to come," said Vučić and called on Hyundai to produce cars in Serbia as well, promising that they will not receive such subsidies anywhere in the EU as in Serbia.

About the solar power plant project

The contract for the implementation of the Project for the construction without management and maintenance of large-capacity self-balanced solar power plants with a total installed power of at least 1,000 MWAC/1,200 MWDC with battery systems for storing electricity with a total installed power of no more than 200 MW/400 MWh was signed by the Minister of Energy Dubravka Djedović Handanović and the General EPS director Dušan Živković.

TANJUG/ STRAHINJA AĆIMOVIĆ/ nr

The CEO of UGT Renewables Adam Corteze, President and CEO of Hyndai Engineering Hyon Song Hong and strategic manager of Hyundai Engineering Belgrade branch Sang Min-Park put their signatures in front of the consortium.

President Vučić announced the signing of the contract last week.

"We will sign the contract with UGTR next week. I talked about it all the time with President Biden. And he personally said how important this company is and how important it is to continue investing in energy, because we won't have electricity if we don't hurry. That project should bring us one gigawatt of newly installed power through solar panels," said Vučić.

On October 10, the Government of Serbia adopted the Conclusion on the project of construction without management and maintenance of large-capacity self-balanced solar power plants with battery systems for electricity storage in Serbia, as a project of importance for Serbia.

It envisages the construction of solar power plants in the territories of the municipalities of Negotin, Zaječar, Odžaci, Lebane, Leskovac and Bujanovac.

The project includes the development, construction, commissioning, management and maintenance of these power plants for two years after construction.

The government stated that the solar power plants will consist of photovoltaic panels, solar panel carriers with systems for monitoring the movement of the sun, the so-called. trackers, battery systems for storing electricity, as well as associated low-voltage, medium-voltage and high-voltage equipment.

This project achieves the goals of the energy transition and fulfills international obligations, and the need for electricity imports will be eliminated and long-term supply of consumers at economically affordable prices will be ensured.