Low purchase price for electricity obtained from wind farms may lead to the decision of investors not to participate in auctions and financial institutions and banks not to finance projects.
Representatives of investors and financiers, members and partners of the Association of Renewable Energy Sources of Serbia are extremely dissatisfied with the given maximum purchase price of 5.57 euro cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity from wind farms with a power of more than three megawatts. At the proposal of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, on November 25, 2021, the Government of Serbia passed the Decree on the market premium and feed-in tariffs according to the model of bilateral floating premium. This model means that the state will give premiums to investors when the price on the market is lower than the one realized at auctions, and investors to the state when that price is higher than the one realized at auctions.
On the same day, November 25, 2021, the Energy Agency made a decision on determining the maximum purchase price for the needs of auctions for electricity from wind power plants, which surprised investors.
Without an explanation, we cannot establish how this error occurred, ie how such a low maximum price was obtained, bearing in mind that during the determination of the methodology, investors submitted input parameters to the Energy Agency. They emphasize that the given price is one of the lowest in Europe. For example, in Albania, a maximum price of 7.5 euro cents was set last week.
According to them, all this calls into question the meaning of conducting the first auction, which is planned for the end of 2021, ie the beginning of 2022. The goal and meaning of determining the maximum price certainly should not have been such that it should be minimal at the beginning, because the lowest price should be reached by investors through auctions, but the highest level should have been determined, which investors must not exceed. It is obvious, very clearly, that such a price is a consequence of a wrong approach and understanding of the purpose of determining the maximum price for the needs of auctions. This price will certainly not be stimulating for the market, and Serbia will no longer be an attractive market for investors.
Members of the Board of Directors of the Renewable Energy Sources Association of Serbia express concern over the future of renewable energy sources in our country after determining the maximum purchase price for auctions for electricity from wind farms, which due to the bilateral premium model may lead to investors not to participate in auctions, Politika reports.
