MoU on investments in renewables signed with Chinese companies

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic signed on Friday a MoU with China's Shanghai Fengling Renewables Co Ltd and Serbia Zijin Copper doo Bor on investments in renewable energy sources.

In the past year, Serbia made major steps forward in the transition to green energy, above all, by advancing the legislative framework and carrying out its first auctions in the renewables sector, the minister said after signing the MoU.

"With the memorandum that was signed today, we launch the implementation of Serbia's single biggest project in the renewables sector, to be carried out by the Chinese companies Shanghai Fengling and Zijin Copper, which is co-owned by Serbia," Djedovic Handanovic said.

She said the project implied the construction of a 2 GW wind and solar power plant near Bor, eastern Serbia, and a green hydrogen factory with a capacity of around 30,000 t a year.

"The investor is Shanghai Fengling and the energy generated will be used for Zijin's production needs," she said, noting that Zijin Copper was one of Serbia's top exporters and that its output was growing steadily.

Besides direct investments in environmental protection in the mining sector, the project will ensure that a significant part of the power needed by Zijin is generated in a sustainable manner, she said.

"That power will be produced here in Serbia, in the Bor district, through our solar and wind power potential," Djedovic Handanovic said.