EBRD, KfW Fund North Macedonia Mine-Site Solar

• EBRD and KfW back €87m for Bitola 3: a 134‑MWp, battery‑ready solar park on a reclaimed lignite mine, cutting 134,000 t CO2 and accelerating North Macedonia’s coal exit.

EBRD and Germany’s KfW will lend €87 million in sovereign-guaranteed debt—€37 million and €50 million, respectively—to North Macedonia’s state utility ESM for Bitola 3, a 134-MWp solar plant on a reclaimed lignite mine in the southwest. The project is expected to generate about 180.9 GWh annually and avoid roughly 134,000 tonnes of CO₂, advancing the country’s plan to phase out coal and cut emissions 82% by 2030.

Built on controlled land with nearby grid access, Bitola 3 is designed with bifacial modules on single-axis trackers and “battery-ready” infrastructure. The project anchors a broader ESM program targeting 200+ MW of new renewables and offers a template for mine-to-solar conversions across the Western Balkans.

What are the EPC timeline, COD date, and O&M strategies for Bitola 3?

EPC timeline: Competitive EPC tender in 2025; contract award and notice to proceed by late 2025; site mobilization immediately after winter; 15–18 months of construction and commissioning through 2026–early 2027, including phased grid energization and performance testing.

COD date: Target commercial operation in Q1–Q2 2027, contingent on permitting, interconnection works, and winter construction windows.

O&M strategies:

• Initial full-scope O&M by EPC/OEM during the defects-liability period (typically 2 years), then transition to ESM with OEM-backed long-term service agreements for inverters, trackers, and SCADA.
  
• Data-driven predictive maintenance: high-frequency SCADA analytics, IV-curve tracing, drone/IR thermography, string-level anomaly detection, tracker alignment audits, and condition-based inverter servicing.
  
• Availability and performance guarantees with liquidated damages; PR and energy-yield KPIs; monthly and annual performance reporting.
  
• Asset care: optimized washing based on soiling index and water availability, vegetation control tailored to reclaimed mine soils, corrosion monitoring, and earthing inspections.
  
• Spares and logistics: critical spares on-site (inverter boards, tracker motors, fuses), regional repair partners, and warranty claim management.
  
• HSE and security: mine-reclamation-specific safety protocols, fencing/CCTV, cyber-hardening of SCADA, and wildlife/biodiversity monitoring.
• Grid interface: curtailment management, reactive power/voltage support compliance, and ramp-rate control; “battery-ready” O&M procedures to integrate future BESS without disrupting solar operations.