The Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy has entered a cooperation agreement with a US based company called UGT Renewables for the construction of more than 1 GW of solar power capacity and energy storage projects to be built in Serbia.
According to a statement released by the Serbian Energy Ministry, the agreement signed by UGT Renewables' CFO Peter Goodall, will help the country reform and modernize its entire energy sector while ensuring cleaner air for Serbia's denizens.
"We are about to talk about all the conditions, and if we fulfill everything from the agreement together, we can have solar panels that will produce more than one gigawatt of electricity," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Local media shared details of the said 1 GW solar capacity to be set up on 10 sites on 2,000 hectares of land which would be enough to meet close to 3% of Serbia's electricity needs.
Balkan Green Energy News, while referring to local media reports, said Serbia has been offered a loan from the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of the United States with 20-year duration that's enough to cover 85% of the potential 1 GW solar power capacity to be built under the agreement.
According to news portal N1, hours after the agreement was inked, an NGO called the Coalition for Oversight of Public Finances questioned the government's move to select the American company for these solar farms without conducting any public competition.
Previously, in March 2021 UGT Renewables representatives met with the Serbian energy minister to discuss the possibility of setting up solar power projects in the field of solar energy.
Serbia is encouraging solar power development in the country with state subsidies, especially for agrivoltaic projects (see Serbia Providing Subsidies For Agrivoltaic Projects).