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Belgrade launches first solar power plant for residential community, advancing Serbia’s green energy shift

In Batajnica, near the highway to Novi Sad, an unusual solar power plant with a capacity of 10 kilowatts has recently been put into operation. This plant belongs to the first residential community in Belgrade that has been officially registered as a “buyer-producer.”

While this marks a pioneering effort for Belgrade, it is not the first of its kind in Serbia. Three other residential communities—located in Pančevo, Subotica and Niš—had already registered as buyer-producers before the Belgrade community.

In total, the Belgrade solar power plant is the fourth of its kind in the country. By comparison, Serbia is home to more than 80,000 residential buildings, according to data from the Republic Institute of Statistics (RZS). Therefore, the number of residential communities registered as buyer-producers is still very small. However, each new registration could inspire more communities to embark on the path toward decarbonization, reports Klima101.

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The first pioneers in this field were the residents of a building in Pančevo, who became buyer-producers in December 2022 with a 9.5-kilowatt solar power plant. In October of the following year, a residential community in the center of Subotica followed suit, with a solar power plant of the same size. Early last year, a residential community in Niš connected a 50-kilowatt solar power plant to the grid, making it the largest facility among buyer-producer residential communities.

Currently, the combined capacity of all residential community solar power plants, including the new Belgrade one, amounts to only 79.5 kilowatts.

Buyer-producers are participants in the energy market who produce electricity for their own needs using renewable sources. Any surplus energy produced is fed into the power system, functioning like a virtual battery. When the community consumes more electricity than it produces, the surplus is withdrawn from the grid. This arrangement not only lowers electricity bills but also reduces harmful emissions, contributing to cleaner air.

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The status of buyer-producer was introduced into Serbian legislation in April 2021 with amendments to the Law on Energy and the Law on the Use of Renewable Sources. This marked an important step for Serbia’s energy transition.

Despite initial challenges, the status has become increasingly attractive, especially following recent regulatory changes that allow for even greater reductions in electricity bills. Although the number of buyer-producer residential communities remains modest, the most numerous group in this sector is individual households. According to data from Elektrodistribucija, the number of buyer-producer households reached 3,082 in December 2024, with a total installed capacity of 25 megawatts as of January 14, 2025.

Additionally, there are 1,189 “other” buyer-producers, which include businesses, farms, schools and even monasteries. While the number of these “other” producers is smaller than the household category, their combined installed capacity is nearly 60 megawatts, reflecting the higher energy demands of factories, institutions, and larger buildings.

How can residential communities become buyer-producers?

The process for housing associations to become buyer-producers is more complex than it is for individual households, due to the larger number of members involved. The steps to achieving this status include:

  1. A decision made by the housing community assembly.
  2. Submission of a request for connection approval.
  3. Signing a service agreement for connection.
  4. Installation of the solar power plant and the necessary measuring point.
  5. Signing the supply contract and connecting the plant to the distribution system.

This step-by-step process ensures that residential communities can benefit from renewable energy production while also contributing to Serbia’s broader energy transition goals.

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