The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects Montenegro to hold its first renewable energy auction by 2025. The auction is conditional on the introduction of a renewable energy law. The Ministry of Mines and Energy said the advisory team hired by the EBRD is assisting in the development of the Renewable Energy Use Act. The goal is to bring the regulatory framework into line with the EU's new renewable energy Directive.

Remon Zakaria, president of the EBRD in Montenegro, said the advisers will support the Montenegrin government in developing a new law to establish a regulatory framework for auctions.

Zakaria noted that the draft law should be completed by the new government. Zakaria: We hope to see Montenegro's first renewable energy auction by 2025, the ministry added, adding that the law will lay the groundwork for launching auction activities.

It was revealed that the first draft of the law is ready and members of the working group are making suggestions and comments. The final version is expected to be finalized and sent to the government in 2024.

According to the EBRD, reforms in this area of the market are taking place at different speeds in different countries, depending on regulatory characteristics and the associated complexities.

"We hope to see the first renewable energy auction in Montenegro by 2025," Zakaria stressed.The price of the first auction of solar power in Albania, Montenegro's neighbor, was 24.89 euros per megawatt-hour. In Serbia, the minimum accepted prices for wind and solar are €64.48 per MWH and €88.65 per MWH respectively. Editor/Xu Shengpeng