EBRD-KfW support green transition - Finance 87 million euros for solar power plant in North Macedonia
The EBRD and KfW are jointly financing €87 million for a solar power plant in North Macedonia. Bitola 3 with an installed capacity of 134 MW will avoid 134,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year, accelerating the green transition and increasing energy security. The flagship project of the Just Energy Transition Investment Platform will be developed in the reclaimed coal mine and will include support for strengthening governance and gender inclusion.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a sovereign guaranteed loan of up to €37 million to Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM), the state-owned electricity generation company in North Macedonia, to finance the development, construction and operation of a solar power plant. The loan will be provided together with a sovereign guaranteed loan of €50 million from the German development bank KfW, marking the first joint financing and implementation of a project by the EBRD and KfW.
The Bitola 3 solar power plant is a flagship project under the Just Energy Transition Investment Platform (JETIP), launched by North Macedonia at COP28 in 2023 with critical technical leadership from the EBRD. JETIP aims to mobilise up to €3 billion in investment and provide technical and policy support to deploy 1.7 GW of new renewable capacity by 2030, ensuring a just transition for coal-dependent communities.
Bitola 3 is expected to generate 180.9 GWh of renewable electricity per year and reduce North Macedonia’s CO2 emissions by approximately 134,000 tons per year, reinforcing the ambition to phase out coal and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 82 percent by 2030 according to the updated National Energy and Climate Plan and Nationally Determined Contributions. The project will accelerate the deployment of solar energy, strengthen domestic energy production, reduce import dependence and advance a cleaner and more resilient energy system.
The EBRD is a major institutional investor in North Macedonia, investing over €3 billion in more than 200 projects across the country.
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