Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) has outlined a renewable and storage investment pipeline alongside hydro upgrades and thermal capacity works. The company’s announcements include 1 GW of solar supported by 200 MW / 400 MWh of batteries, a potential 500 MW wind programme, and more than €3 billion in green-energy investments by 2030. EPS also points to hydro revitalisation, the completion of Kostolac B3, and a decarbonisation pathway under which renewables would gradually overtake fossil generation in its production mix after 2035. The question raised by the scale of the plans is what has changed in Serbia’s power system so far.
- 1 GW solar-plus-storage programme details
- Wind programme discussions and timing constraints
- Hydro revitalisation and Kostolac B3 completion
- Earnings trends alongside investment spending changes
- Sectors affected: consumers, industry, developers and lenders
- Treasury impacts: trading liquidity and balancing needs
The current system-level picture remains dominated by coal and large hydro. In 2024, Serbia’s electricity production was led by coal-fired plants at 60.49% of total national output, while hydropower accounted for 29.74%. Wind contributed 3.8%, solar represented only 0.25%, and biomass/biogas made up 0.86%. These shares indicate that solar and wind are expanding, but EPS’s operational backbone is still lignite-based generation together with large hydro and legacy baseload assets.
EPS’s reported operating figures align with that structure. In 2025, total electricity output was 30,556 GWh, down 4% year-on-year. Thermal power plants produced 71.4% of EPS output, hydropower plants generated 27.3%, and the Pannonian combined heat-and-power plant supplied 1.3%. EPS also reported total investments of RSD 52.7 billion in 2025, compared with RSD 65.6 billion in 2024.
1 GW solar-plus-storage programme details
The largest new project described by EPS is a 1 GW solar-plus-storage programme developed with Hyundai Engineering and UGT Renewables. The plan covers solar power plants with total connection capacity of 1,000 MW, or around 1,200 MW nameplate capacity, paired with batteries of up to 200 MW / 400 MWh. The installations are planned across six locations, including major sites in Negotin and Zaječar at 460 MW, and Bošnjace in Lebane at 302 MW. Expected annual production is around 1,600 GWh, with delivery targeted for around 2028.
The programme is described as a self-balancing solar concept rather than standalone photovoltaic capacity. The storage component is intended to reduce issues associated with pure solar generation such as midday oversupply, imbalance exposure, curtailment, and evening deficit. For Serbia’s system, the battery package is therefore positioned as central to how the solar output would be integrated into grid operations. After an initial operating period by the strategic partner, the assets are expected to be transferred to EPS.
The impact on generation shares is still limited until construction and grid connection are completed. While the expected 1,600 GWh annual output would be meaningful once operational, it would represent roughly 5% of EPS’s 2025 production levels. The project is expected to diversify supply and reduce import exposure during sunny periods while improving the renewable share over time. It would not replace the thermal fleet or remove the need for lignite flexibility, hydro dispatch, or cross-border trading on its own.
Wind programme discussions and timing constraints
A second element of EPS’s forward pipeline concerns wind development with state involvement. EPS and the Serbian government have discussed developing up to 500 MW of wind farms with a strategic partner. In public sector planning discussions, the same solar project has been described as expected online around
The value of wind for Serbia’s system is linked to seasonal generation patterns rather than midday concentration typical of solar output. Wind can complement hydro resources and reduce winter import pressure according to how it is described in EPS-related discussions. However, a wind programme at up to 500 MW remains an investment plan rather than an operating asset until procurement, permitting, grid connection, EPC selection, and financing are completed. Until those steps are resolved, private projects are expected to remain the main source of new wind capacity in Serbia.
Hydro revitalisation and Kostolac B3 completion
A third pillar in EPS’s announced portfolio relates to hydro performance and legacy asset renewal. The Serbian government highlighted revitalisation work at HPP Đerdap 1 that added 114 MW of hydro capacity. It also pointed to completion of Kostolac B3, a thermal unit with a capacity of 350 MW. These measures are presented as having immediate system value through improved flexibility from hydro revitalisation and strengthened dispatchable capacity from Kostolac B3.
The same works also reinforce existing fuel dependence within EPS’s broader portfolio due to Kostolac B3 being a thermal unit linked to lignite-based generation. Hydro revitalisation is described as improving flexibility and reserve capability within the system context used in EPS-related planning discussions. Together with new renewable projects under development, these steps form part of how EPS expects to manage security-of-supply needs while expanding non-fossil capacity over time.
Earnings trends alongside investment spending changes
Earnings developments reported by EPS show financial stabilisation during recent periods while production declined in 2025. In the first half of 2025, EPS reported profit of RSD 27.4 billion, or about €233.8 million, down from RSD 32.8 billion in the same period of 2024. For full-year 2025, net profit reportedly rose sharply even as production fell further according to company-reported figures referenced in the announcements.
The changes are presented alongside investment spending that fell year-on-year between 2024 and 2025 based on EPS disclosures. Total investments were reported at RSD 52.7 billion in 2025 versus RSD 65.6 billion in 2024. The combination indicates that improvements in financial results did not coincide with an already completed transformation of the generation mix into predominantly renewables within that timeframe.
Sectors affected: consumers, industry, developers and lenders
The near-term effect on retail prices for Serbian consumers is described as limited given that new solar-plus-storage assets are not yet operational. Investment costs would need to be reflected through financing structures and allowed revenues under Serbia’s regulated tariff framework before any material bill impact could occur according to how tariffs are characterised in the source material context. Consumers therefore face future diversification benefits without immediate changes tied directly to construction-phase announcements.
The investment pipeline has more direct relevance for industrial buyers seeking lower-carbon electricity products tied to documentation requirements connected with EU carbon rules and CBAM-related reporting needs mentioned in the source material context . The solar-plus-storage programme could support cleaner supply products if matched with metering arrangements, guarantees of origin, hourly data handling, and credible allocation methodology once operational. At present levels described in the source material context however, electricity remains linked primarily to Serbia’s coal-heavy residual system.
The move into renewables also affects private developers through market competition dynamics associated with state-backed participation. A serious wind programme backed by EPS would add a state-supported competitor alongside private renewable developers that have historically driven most new capacity additions in Serbia’s market context . In constrained grid conditions referenced in the source material context, projects backed by EPS could receive higher strategic priority than speculative pipelines without advanced grid status.
Banks face both positive financing signals and risk factors when assessing utility-backed renewables under an EPS-led approach . Utility support can make renewables easier to finance compared with fragmented merchant structures when state support forftake arrangements and grid integration structures exist through strategic partners . At the same time banks assess legacy operational risk tied to coal exposure as well as capex discipline risk and political-tariff risk described in relation to EPS’s portfolio.
Treasury impacts: trading liquidity and balancing needs
Evolving generation assets could alter liquidity patterns for traders once new capacity comes online under EPS plans . The planned solar buildout at up to 1 GW
