MET Group, through its 51% joint venture PEPO Energy, has launched a 1.2MW biogas power plant in Serbia.

PEPO Energy, a joint venture between Switzerland-based energy company MET Group and Arhar Teh, a local firm in the north-eastern Serbian town of Novo Milosevo, has constructed and commenced operations of a green energy power plant which utilises residue agricultural biomass for biogas production, which in turn generates electricity and heat. The plant has a design capacity of 1.2MW.

MET Group entered the PEPO project in May 2020, acquiring 51% of the equity and providing the necessary project finance.

Zorana Mihajlovi?, deputy prime minister and minister of mining and energy emphasised the importance of building a new biogas power plant in Serbia, in addition to the 28 existing ones.

Said Mihajlovi?: “Currently, we are building another 73 biogas power plants in Serbia, and with about 100MW of capacity being installed in a year or two, Serbia will produce more electricity from biogas than Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro together. This project demonstrates the orientation of the Serbian government towards green energy, and every investor who invests in renewable energy shows that they believe in our energy policy.”

Mihajlovic also underlined that PEPO Energy is an investment worth five million euros, which will support over 30 jobs for the local community.

Benjamin Lakatos, CEO of MET Group commented: “The PEPO power plant is yet another milestone in our renewables strategy, and demonstrates our strong commitment to a green and sustainable future. It also further underpins our commitment to Serbia, where MET has been doing business since 2009. We would like to continue to expand our renewable and conventional activities here, further investing in the Serbian economy.”

Renewable energy in Serbia

According to the Energy Community Serbia: Annual Implementation Report, in September 2018 Serbia put in operation the biggest wind park in the region, ?ibuk 1 (158MW), reaching total capacities of this technology of almost 400MW. The development of solar projects continues to stagnate due to the filling of modest quotas for supporting this technology.

Although the country is increasing its renewable energy capacities, this trend is countered by rising energy consumption. In terms of target

achievement, Serbia is lagging behind in the electricity, heating and cooling and transport sectors.