The technically usable energy potential for converting solar energy into heat (to prepare hot water and for other purposes) is estimated at 0.194 million toe (tonnes of oil equivalent) per annum, assuming that solar thermal collectors are installed on 50% of available facilities in the country. As regards electricity generation, the main technological limiting factor, just as in the case of wind power, is the ability of the power system to store this energy during summer months, as this type of production is variable.
Based on the currently available capacity of the power system of the Republic of Serbia to provide tertiary reserve, it is assumed that the maximum technically usable capacity of solar power plants is 450 MW, i.e. their technically usable potential is 540 GWh/year (0,046 Mtoe/year).
In most of Serbia’s territory, sunshine duration is significantly greater than in many European countries (between 1,500 and 2,200 hours per year). The average intensity of solar radiation in Serbia ranges from 1.1 kWh/m2/day in the north to 1.7 kWh/m2/day in the south in January, while in July it ranges from 5.9 to 6.6 kWh/m2/day. Average annual solar radiation ranges from 1,200 kWh/m2/year in North-western Serbia to 1,550 kWh/m2/year in South-eastern Serbia, while the average in the central part of the country is around 1,400 kWh/m2/year.
The technically usable energy potential for converting solar energy into heat (to prepare hot water and for other purposes) is estimated at 0.194 million toe (tonnes of oil equivalent) per annum, assuming that solar thermal collectors are installed on 50% of available facilities in the country. As regards electricity generation, the main technological limiting factor, just as in the case of wind power, is the ability of the power system to store this energy during summer months, as this type of production is variable. Based on the currently available capacity of the power system of the Republic of Serbia to provide tertiary reserve, it is assumed that the maximum technically usable capacity of solar power plants is 450 MW, i.e. their technically usable potential is 540 GWh/year (0,046 Mtoe/year).
The technically usable potential of solar energy for electricity generation is a variable which will depend on the rate of development of the power transmission and distribution networks in the electricity system of the Republic of Serbia. The construction of new potential power generation capacities (coal, natural gas, large hydropower plants), and in particular pumped-storage hydropower plants (PSPP Bistrica and/or Đerdap 3), will significantly increase the technically available potential of these intermittent sources, as it will increase possibilities for balancing powers in the system. A significant increase in the uptake of solar power plants could also be achieved through the introduction of the net metering system for small electricity consumers, where photovoltaic systems would be used as the main sources of energy for end consumers.
The target value for solar power plants in 2020 is set at 10 MW according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan of the Republic of Serbia, which is also the maximum installed power of all solar power plants which may be granted the status of privileged producer or temporarily privileged producer in Serbia[12]. This cap is in practice often referred to as the “solar quota”. As the number of applications for the status of temporarily privileged producer filed by 2016 was so large that their total value exceeded 10 MW, and given that there are also certain solar power plants which are not included in the statistics because they do not have the status of privileged producers, the conclusion is that Serbia has already reached its planned target for 2020 as regards power generated by solar power plants.
The importance of solar power plants for the attainment of national renewable energy goals is also evident from the fact that, by mid-2018, as many as 105 solar power plants had been granted the status of privileged producers, while the total installed power of all those power plants does not exceed 10 MW, with great interest among investors to construct new capacities. Such huge interest is indicative of its major economic and social importance and there is clearly realistic capacity for new projects.
In view of the foregoing, it can be concluded that construction of new solar power plants will be possible in Serbia even beyond 2020 as the target year in the field of renewable energy, which will certainly have positive effects on the development of economic activity in this field.