Boosting hydro power in North Macedonia

A developer of clean-energy power plants, BNB Enerdzi, secures a loan to develop a small hydro power plant ‘Braza voda 3’ and support the ambitions of North Macedonia to shift towards renewable sources of energy.

BNB Enerdzi was founded in the city of Skopje as a joint venture of two companies, BNB Kompani and Vetrostalna, for the purpose of developing a small power plant ‘Brza voda 3’, with installation capacity of 677 kW. The produced electricity will be delivered to the Macedonian power grid, displacing carbon-intensive generation and achieving GHG emission reductions.

North Macedonia is strongly depended on imports for energy and these imports are growing. In a country where the government is determined to utilize the full potential of hydro for generating electricity, the initiative is welcome.

To support the project, the GEFF team performed the project analysis, assessed the potential of energy savings, financial-technical parameters and risks. As part of the project BNB Enerdzi received an financial incentive from the EU, €107,000.

BNB Enerdzi secured a loan of €1.4 million, which contributed to the development of a power plant situated in the western part of the country, the Share Planina. Annually the power plant produces over 2,700 MWh of electrical energy and has water flow capacity of 0.48 m3/s. This project is expected to deliver a reduction in CO2 emissions by over 2,500 tonnes per year as well as generating over 6,800 MWh of annual equivalent of primary renewable energy. Overall this translates into saving of €189,000 annual savings.

This facility was developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and is supported by the EU and the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).