Turkey based EPC contractor Girisim Electrik has been brought on board to construct the 10 MW Oslomej Solar Power Plant in North Macedonia. The system will be owned by state-owned electricity company Elektrani na Serverna Makedonija (ESM), which was previously known as ELEM. Supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the tender for this project was launched in April 2019 (see 10 MW Solar Tender In North Macedonia).
ESM Director Vasko Kovacevski said Girisim Electrik was selected out of eight shortlisted applicants who made the cut from 17 applicants. The EPC company claims to have built Algeria's largest PV plant with 1.2 GW capacity.
The first large scale solar power plant of North Macedonia, the 10 MW project will be located next to the existing Oslomej thermal power plant on previously what was a lignite mining site. It is expected to be completed within 10 months for an investment of €6.9 million ($7.6 million) and start producing power in the second half of 2020.
During the contract signing between Girisim Electrik and ESM, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Kocho Angjushev said the government will be launching new tenders for another 10 MW solar for the Oslomej location to be financed by ESM, and two PV projects of 50 MW each on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis to be developed on old coal mine sites. No specific timeline of the tender launch was shared.
He added the country till now has only 18 MW of installed solar power capacity. The EBRD is supporting North Macedonia with designing competitive renewable tenders for 200 MW of solar and 150 MW of wind power capacity.
In September 2019, the Ministry of Economy received 82 bids for 35 MW solar PV tendered capacity in June this year (see 82 Bids For North Macedonia Solar Tender).