The Republic of Macedonia announced last week a tender process for the concession of 80 new locations for the development of small hydropower plants (SHPPs). To date, Macedonia has seen 30 small hydropower plant investments of which 16 are already operational and 14 others should be completed in the coming months.

Investment costs required to implement all 80 SHPP locations have been estimated at approximately €176 million and the total installed capacity at approximately 63 MW. Provided that all 80 SHPPs are completed, the total annual production of electricity is expected to be around 226 GWh.

Small Hydro has been and remains a priority for the Republic of Macedonia who offers one of the most attractive investment opportunities in small hydro in the region; with competitive feed-in tariffs, low construction and labor costs, low corporate and personal income tax and an attractive return on investment.

The International Finance Corporation, the private sector development arm of the World Bank group, has been working with the Government of Macedonia to streamline and improve existing regulation and procedures for the tendering process related to SHPPs.

The WebSite on small hydro power plants, which enables simple and easy access to all necessary information related to the project, including the Feasibility Study, is incorporated in the WebSite of Minister of Environment and Physical Planning (MEPP). The web portal, tender documentation and model concession agreement have resulted from the cooperation of MEPP and International Financial Corporation (IFC).