A RACE TO THE TOP: WESTERN BALKANS 2024

The Western Balkans have seen a 70% increase in prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity over the past year, reaching 23 GW. This capacity could potentially displace planned gas-fired power plants and avert 103 million tonnes of lifetime CO2 emissions. However, only 6% of this prospective capacity is currently under construction, and the region remains heavily dependent on coal and hydropower.

• Prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity in the Western Balkans has reached 23 GW as of March 2024, representing a 70% increase compared to the previous year. This scale of prospective capacity is described as comparable to that of Germany.
• Despite the large pipeline, only 1.3 GW (approximately 6%) of the prospective capacity is currently under construction and considered very likely to become operational.
• Operating utility-scale solar and wind capacity currently accounts for roughly 7% of the regional electricity mix, totaling 1.5 GW. The region's renewable energy mix is heavily skewed toward hydropower, which makes up 89% of renewables, with wind and solar accounting for 11%.
• Serbia holds the largest share of both operating (29%) and prospective (47%) utility-scale solar and wind capacity in the region. Serbia's prospective wind capacity of 7.9 GW exceeds its cost-effective wind potential of 1.8 GW by over 400%.
• A transition to clean energy that bypasses planned gas-fired power could avert an estimated 103 million tonnes of lifetime CO2 emissions—equivalent to 87% of the region's 2022 emissions—and save more than €9 billion in energy costs and stranded assets.
• The region faces a 'dash to gas' with 2.6 GW of potential gas-powered capacity additions and €3.5 billion in associated infrastructure planned across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. GEM analysis suggests that if planned solar and wind projects are operationalized by 2028, their cumulative generation (11 TWh) would substantially exceed new gas power generation (6 TWh).

APA

Gamez, A., Kozybay, Z., Prasad, S., O’Malia, K., Stylionou, N., Gjorgjievski, A., Mazreku, V., Vrettos, C., & Gallop, P. (2024). A RACE TO THE TOP: WESTERN BALKANS 2024. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-WesternBalkans-wind-solar-report-2024_11.pdf

Chicago

Gamez, Andrew, Zhanaiym Kozybay, Shradhey Prasad, Kasandra O’Malia, Nassos Stylionou, Aleksandar Gjorgjievski, Valbona Mazreku, Chris Vrettos, and Pippa Gallop. A RACE TO THE TOP: WESTERN BALKANS 2024. Global Energy Monitor, 2024. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-WesternBalkans-wind-solar-report-2024_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gamez |first1=Andrew |last2=Kozybay |first2=Zhanaiym |last3=Prasad |first3=Shradhey |last4=O’Malia |first4=Kasandra |last5=Stylionou |first5=Nassos |last6=Gjorgjievski |first6=Aleksandar |last7=Mazreku |first7=Valbona |last8=Vrettos |first8=Chris |last9=Gallop |first9=Pippa |title=A RACE TO THE TOP: WESTERN BALKANS 2024 |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=July 2024 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-WesternBalkans-wind-solar-report-2024_11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gamez2024race, author = {Gamez, Andrew and Kozybay, Zhanaiym and Prasad, Shradhey and O’Malia, Kasandra and Stylionou, Nassos and Gjorgjievski, Aleksandar and Mazreku, Valbona and Vrettos, Chris and Gallop, Pippa}, title = {{A RACE TO THE TOP: WESTERN BALKANS 2024}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-WesternBalkans-wind-solar-report-2024_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }