North Macedonia’s gross electricity production declined 13.2% year on year to 408,045 MWh in June. The fall coincided with drought and high temperatures affecting system operation. Thermal, hydro and variable renewable output all moved differently during the month.
Electricity generated by thermal power plants totaled 131,405 MWh, down 23.6% from a year earlier. Hydropower output rose 36% to 99,639 MWh. Solar generation decreased 12.2% to 159,796 MWh, while wind output fell 13.4% to 14,010 MWh.
June imports and exports show weaker cross-border flows
Electricity imports fell 11.8% to 99,906 MWh. Exports dropped 40.4% to 61,137 MWh. The changes in trade flows occurred alongside the month’s shift in domestic generation.
Solar capacity expansion linked to existing coal infrastructure
North Macedonia is advancing renewable capacity development around its existing coal infrastructure. PowerChina Jiangxi Electric Power Construction has been selected for a 30-MW solar project for state utility ESM. The scope includes 10 MW at the exhausted Oslomej coal mine and 20 MW near the Bitola thermal-power complex.
The contract is valued at around €12 million. Oslomej is described as becoming an important testing ground for the country’s coal-to-clean-energy transition. Existing solar capacity has already been developed on former mining land.
Batteries planned alongside solar at former mining sites
A separate solar project is paired with a 50 MW/200 MWh battery installation. The approach is designed to reuse grid infrastructure and degraded industrial land while gradually replacing coal generation with solar and storage. It also aligns with a broader pattern across Southeast Europe.
The regional trend involves former thermal-power and mining sites being used for renewable projects where transmission access, industrial land availability and existing infrastructure can reduce development timelines.
