In the villages of South Banat in Serbia and the Demir Kapija region of North Macedonia, wind turbines have appeared faster than local communities have been able to participate in decisions about their construction. Wind energy has been promoted in both countries for more than fifteen years as one of the key pillars of the energy transition, alongside solar energy and small hydropower. At the same time, wind farms increasingly provoke disputes—over spatial planning, environmental impact, relations with local residents, and the ownership and financial structures behind these projects.
Wind energy in Serbia has been developing for over a decade, yet it still represents a relatively small share of total electricity production. Although wind farms are often presented as projects of strategic importance and symbols of the green transition, almost all existing wind capacity in Serbia is privately owned. The only exception is the Kostolac wind farm, which is owned by the state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije and entered trial operation at the end of 2025. Beyond this single case, the state does not play a direct ownership role in wind energy, with development relying primarily on private capital operating within a regulatory framework shaped by the government. A similar model exists in North Macedonia, where the state was initially involved through the Bogdanci wind farm, but most subsequent capacity additions have also been driven by private investors.
According to available data cited in the article, Serbia has between 500 and 600 megawatts of installed wind capacity, accounting for around four percent of total electricity generation. There are roughly ten operational wind farms, with South Banat emerging as the country’s central wind energy cluster. Wind parks already built or operating in this region include Kovačica, Pupin, Čibuk 1, Alibunar, and Alibunar I. In addition, the Alibunar 1 and Alibunar 2 projects are under development, while Samoš and Samoš 2 remain in the planning phase. Smaller installations, such as the Malibunar wind farm, also exist, and new projects are being proposed in the wider Pančevo area.
Two dominant development models can be observed in South Banat. The first involves projects that were initially developed by European companies and later taken over by Chinese capital. The second model consists of projects formally registered to domestic companies, where information about the ultimate investors and sources of financing is often limited or unclear. A common operational figure across both models is Lazar Lazendić, who is connected to more than eighteen companies and has long-standing cooperation with Elektroprivreda Srbije. Lazendić does not appear as the capital owner of the wind farms, but rather as the director and legal representative of special-purpose companies established to guide individual projects through planning, permitting, and early development stages, before larger investors enter.
The oldest and largest wind installation in the Alibunar area was built by the Belgian company Elicio, which also developed the smaller Malibunar wind farm. In 2023, Alibunar I, with an installed capacity of about nine megawatts, entered operation with investment from the Slovenian company Rudis, becoming the first new wind farm in Serbia after Čibuk 1. The larger Alibunar 1 and Alibunar 2 projects, with a combined planned capacity of approximately 168 megawatts, were initially developed under structures linked to the Belgian-Dutch company Windvision, through its Serbian subsidiary.
At the end of 2024, ownership of Alibunar 1 and Alibunar 2 changed. Majority stakes were acquired by Heavy Energy International Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong. It was later confirmed that this company is affiliated with the Chinese wind turbine manufacturer SANY Renewable Energy, effectively placing the projects under Chinese ownership. Despite this change, operational management in Serbia remained unchanged, with Lazar Lazendić continuing to lead the project companies and manage relations with local institutions.
Chinese involvement in regional wind energy is not limited to Serbia. Similar patterns can be observed in North Macedonia, where Chinese companies increasingly participate in renewable energy projects as technology suppliers, financiers, or owners, typically after key planning and regulatory risks have been resolved. At the Alibunar I wind farm, Chinese technology supplied by Windey Energy has been installed, marking one of the more visible examples of Chinese equipment entering Serbia’s wind sector.
An important institutional element supporting these projects is Elektroprivreda Srbije, which has committed to purchasing all electricity generated by the Alibunar 1 and Alibunar 2 wind farms under state support mechanisms. This arrangement formally integrates the projects into Serbia’s renewable energy framework and further consolidates the role of large, foreign-owned wind farms in the national electricity system.
From South Banat to Demir Kapija, the rapid expansion of wind energy highlights a broader dynamic in which global capital, national energy policy, and local communities intersect. While wind power is promoted as a clean and necessary component of the energy transition, the speed of development, the concentration of projects, and the opacity of ownership structures continue to place significant pressure on local environments and residents, raising unresolved questions about transparency, participation, and long-term public interest.
