North Macedonia will receive a €2.4mn grant from Germany’s KfW bank aimed for renewable energy source projects and the energy transition from coal, the government in Skopje announced on February 15.

The deal was signed by general director of state-run power producer ESM, Vasko Kovacevski, and KfW regional director for North Macedonia and Kosovo, Rene Eschemann.

The Energy Community said recently that North Macedonia remains the only country in the Western Balkans that has expressed its intent to gradually phase-out coal.

“The signing of the grant agreement opens the way for the use of the German government’s grant for drafting technical studies and documents that are a necessary towards investments in renewable energy sources,” North Macedonia’s PM Zoran Zaev said in the government statement.

The grant is an addition to €80.5mn of favourable loans for the construction of energy facilities.

Zaev stressed that this is the first step in meeting the goals set in the government's Energy Development Strategy until 2040.

He added that this will accelerate the process of transition from coal to renewable energy sources, which will also mean a reduction in air pollution.

Kovacevski said that part of the grant will be used for photovoltaic power plants at REK Bitola, the construction of the wind farm in Miravci, the rehabilitation of six hydropower plants, as well as the modernisation and upgrading of other energy facilities.