Construction of Jedan Giga solar park postponed until autumn - Land offered by state unsuitable for panels

Construction of the largest solar park in Europe was supposed to kick off in the south of Serbia in late May. However, it will be postponed until autumn.

Namely, according to the national broadcasting corporation RTS, the investor, the Securum Equity Partners company, will postpone this project because, as they say, they still don't have a location for the solar park.

People at the Ministry of Energy say that they have given this company a list of land lots whose surface area is 10 times as big as the one requested by Securum Equity Partners.

This 1,000 megawatt project worth EUR 1.28 billion is among the largest in the world, which is why it is symbolically called - Jedan Giga (One Giga). Solar panels will not be installed in one but in several locations with the original plan being to set them up in the areas of the following three cities: Vranje, Dimitrovgrad, and Pirot. People at the Ministry of Energy say that they have done their part of the job.

Dejan Trifunovic, assistant to the energy minister, says that the investor has received from the state a list of land lots spanning a total of 30,000 ha in southern and central Serbia, adding that the investor is now expected to make a move.

The investor, which has signed a binding agreement with the Serbian government, claims that they have examined all land lots offered to them, and that a request for new locations will be submitted again.

Alesio Kolusi, director of Securum Equity Partners, says that the project is late due to emerging problems, stressing that most of the land lots offered by the state are not fit for solar panels.

- Unfortunately, only 135 hectares can be used for this project. We are also interested in the deserted mines of Kolubara and Kostolac, which we have visited at the Ministry's invitation - Kolusi explains.

Securum Equity Partners has promised not to request feed-in tariffs from the state for the electricity generated. This investment is expected to bring about EUR 30 million worth of annual revenue to the budget.