To wean North Macedonia off of coal power, the EBRD supports a 4B euro plan

An ambitious plan to wean North Macedonia off coal-fired electricity is supported by international lenders, notably the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and would cost 4 billion euros ($4.35 billion).

Expectedly unveiled at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai starting on Nov. 30, the agreement will include a strategy to shut down the nation's two coal-fired power plants and replace them with 1.7 gigawatts of renewable energy.

President of the EBRD Odile Renaud-Basso told reporters that North Macedonia's coal reserves account for 40% of the country's total energy supply, making them extremely significant.

He continued by saying that this was just one illustration of what they wanted to show off at COP, to demonstrate this strategy and what it can accomplish, as well as the nation's commitment.

Called the 'Just Energy Transition Investment Program,' it is modeled after similar initiatives supported by governments, public lenders, and private investors in Senegal, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa, and other countries to retire coal plants faster.

Given that its cost is the same as two million euros for each of the Balkan nation's two million citizens, it is evident how difficult it will be for many small or low-income nations to afford the switch to cleaner energy.

North Macedonia has been trying for years to move away from coal, and in 2018, the UN ranked the country's capital, Skopje, as the most polluting in all of Europe. However, in an effort to reduce imports of electricity, the idle coal-fired REK Oslomej power plant was reopened in 2021. Its two coal-fired power facilities are old and out-of-date, and they use the most polluting kind of coal—lignite.