Although solar energy is increasingly gaining momentum across Europe, the situation in Serbia is somewhat different.
The installed capacities and number of prosumers remain fairly modest, and in order to install a solar power system there are numerous bureaucratic requirements that must be met, alongside technical and financial challenges.
However, as Dr Jelena Stojković Terzić from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade points out, the greatest obstacle to the introduction of solar power in Serbia is no longer economic viability, but systemic integration. As she explained to EUpravo Zato, solar technology was once considered expensive, but the price of solar panels has fallen by more than 90 per cent over the past decade. The technology has become more accessible, investments are increasingly profitable, and interest from both citizens and businesses exists.
We spoke with the professor, who is also Programme Director of the Centre for Energy Analysis, about the obstacles that still exist in Serbia, aggregators, and the position of prosumers in other European countries. In its report titled "Prosumers in Serbia: Current Situation, Challenges and Recommendations for Improvement", the Centre also outlines ways in which the prosumer model could be improved in Serbia.
"The obstacles are still administrative, regulatory and infrastructural. For citizens and small businesses, the problem is often that procedures are not sufficiently simple, there is uncertainty regarding regulations, and users struggle to obtain clear information about what is actually financially worthwhile for them. When we talk about large solar power plants, the energy sector follows the principle of economies of scale: larger projects generally have lower costs per installed capacity and per unit of energy produced. That is why large solar power plants are important if we want solar to play a more significant role in the electricity system. However, Serbia still does not have solar plants connected to the transmission system, which shows that we are still in the early stages of developing large-scale solar projects. Nevertheless, according to the Energy Development Strategy Implementation Programme, larger projects have been announced, which could represent an important step forward.
Solar power is extremely important for Serbia’s energy transition, but it is not sufficient on its own. As the share of solar power plants and variable renewable energy sources in general increases, the issue of system flexibility becomes increasingly important: storage systems, demand management, aggregators, market signals and smart grids."
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the current Energy Law?
"The advantage of the current amendments to the Energy Law is that Serbia is gradually introducing concepts and mechanisms that are already standard in European energy policy: aggregators, active consumers and citizen energy communities. This opens the door for citizens and businesses not to remain merely passive consumers, but to become active participants in the energy market.
The disadvantage is that legislation alone is not enough. In Serbia, we often have a situation where a good concept is recognised in law, but its implementation depends on secondary legislation, system operator rules, methodologies, procedures and institutional capacities. Therefore, the key challenge is not only what is written in the law, but how quickly and clearly it can be implemented in practice."
The Centre for Energy Analysis has launched a study on the development of electricity aggregators in Serbia. Could you explain what that means, what it could look like in Serbia, and what the main challenges are? What does European practice require us to align with?
"An aggregator is a new participant in the electricity market that brings together a large number of smaller sources of flexibility and operates with them as a single entity. These may include industrial consumers capable of temporarily adjusting consumption, batteries, distributed resources, electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps, or households equipped with smart meters and consumption management capabilities.
Simply put, an aggregator helps the system balance production and consumption. This becomes especially important as the share of wind and solar energy grows, since their production depends on weather conditions. Instead of relying solely on large power plants, part of the system’s flexibility can also come from consumers.
In our context, the most realistic first step is the aggregation of industrial consumption - a model in which the aggregator brings together larger consumers capable of temporarily adjusting their consumption and offers that flexibility to the transmission system operator. The market would then gradually expand towards battery systems and, in the long term, towards prosumers and virtual power plants, once the infrastructure and regulations make this possible.
The biggest challenge today is not that aggregators are unrecognised in regulations, but that the market framework is still not sufficiently developed for aggregation to function in practice. Above all, the conditions for aggregator licensing have not yet been defined, prequalification procedures have not yet been tested through real market examples, and additional technical prerequisites - especially in measurement, communication and digital infrastructure - are still not fully developed.
As for European practice, the key message is that aggregators should be equal market participants, with genuine and operational - not merely formal - access to the market. In that sense, the Serbian framework is already largely moving in the right direction, because the law recognises independent aggregators, and the energy correction model is based on principles aligned with European practice. The next step is to translate that framework into a functioning market mechanism through clear rules, pilot projects and the first practical examples."
Which European countries stand out as the best examples of good practice regarding prosumers and energy communities?
"Germany, the Netherlands and Poland demonstrate different but useful models of good practice. Germany is important because of its long experience with citizen participation in the energy transition. The Netherlands is particularly interesting because it shows that solar energy is not reserved only for sunny countries. Although it does not have a Mediterranean climate, it is among Europe’s leaders in installed solar capacity per capita, thanks to active citizen participation.
Poland may be especially relevant for Serbia because it is a country that traditionally based electricity production on coal, yet in recent years has managed to significantly increase the share of solar energy thanks to a large number of small solar installations. This demonstrates that even systems which have long relied on coal can relatively quickly initiate change when there are clear incentives, public interest and simpler investment models.
From the region, I would highlight Montenegro, primarily because of its application of the ESCO model for financing prosumers. This model is important because it enables users to enter into investments more easily, without needing to immediately provide the full amount required for the installation of solar panels. This is particularly relevant for households and small businesses, as it makes the financial burden of investment more manageable.
For Serbia, the point is not to copy a single model, but to take from these examples what is applicable: simple procedures, stable rules, a clear economic rationale, accessible financing models, public trust and a local approach. The energy transition will not succeed if it remains only a matter for large investors and government strategies. It must also become understandable and beneficial for households, small businesses and local governments."
Could the current energy crisis caused by the war in Iran give additional momentum to renewable energy sources in Serbia, and to what extent?
"It could, but not automatically. Every crisis that increases oil, gas and energy prices reminds us once again how important it is to have domestic energy sources and reduced dependence on imports. The war in Iran has already affected the rise in oil and gas prices, while the risks surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have further intensified nervousness on the global market.
For Serbia, this may be another argument in favour of faster development of renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind power, but also batteries, energy efficiency and consumption flexibility. However, the crisis itself is not enough. Clear rules, stable incentives, faster procedures and investment in the grid are all necessary.
Renewable energy sources are not only a climate issue. They are also a matter of energy security. The more energy we produce locally, from sources that do not depend on imported fuels, the more resilient we become to geopolitical shocks."
(EUpravo zato)