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North Macedonia renewables, gas link & copper push

Updated 5 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-07 20:52 UTC → 2026-08-09 11:52 UTC · added removed

In 2026 2026, North Macedonia accelerated its clean‑energy clean-energy transition with a €1.5 billion programme for two run‑of‑river run-of-river hydro plants (Chebren, Galishte) and a €400 million wind farm near Štip, while a second 800 million‑euro million-euro park is remains under discussion. Croatian firms Končar and Dalekovod won secured contracts for a 337.5 MW wind farm and a 400 kV substation, and substation. Additionally, the REK Bitola 1 cogeneration plant received a $2.4 million World Bank grant. The 66.7‑km 66.7-km gas interconnector with Greece, financed by the EIB, EBRD EBRD, and an EU grant, stays is on track for 2027, initially moving aiming to move 1.5 bcm per year. On the mineral side, the government prepared concessions for four new copper‑gold copper-gold mines, notably Ilovica‑Šтука, sparking Ilovica‑Štuka, though the project faces opposition and calls for full regarding environmental disclosure. The IEA’s 2026 critical‑minerals report warned of a 10 % annual rise in demand for copper disclosure and other battery‑grade metals, underscoring "dry-stack" extraction methods. Despite the strategic value of Macedonia’s deposits. Yet these deposits, the mining sector is contracting: 2026 has seen a 3.8% YoY production fell 3.8 % YoY, decline, with only the Buchim‑Borov copper mine remains active and is nearing depletion, and no greenfield project has launched in four decades. The Ilovica project, slated for a €340 million investment by Euromax Resources and projected to lift GDP by about 3 %, remains on hold amid activist resistance and questions over modern, “dry‑stack” extraction methods. Academics stress the potential for high‑paid jobs and broader fiscal benefits, while local initiative “I health and work” backs the project. Meanwhile, macro‑economic data show the country’s remaining active. Economically, inflation easing. continues to ease. In July 2026 2026, the consumer price index recorded a 2.3 % 2.3% annual rate, the lowest since early 2024, with 2024. This downward trend from a 5.7% peak in April was driven by food and non‑alcoholic non-alcoholic beverage prices falling 1.1 % prices, which fell 1.1% for a the second month while consecutive month. While transport costs rose 4.4 %. Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska‑Kochoska called by 4.4% due to seasonal factors, the trend encouraging, noting concurrent growth in exports, industrial production Ministry of Economy and employment. Labor stated that current price stability does not necessitate new intervention measures.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-09 11:52 UTC North Macedonia renewables, gas link & copper push
  2. 2026-08-07 20:52 UTC North Macedonia renewables, gas link & copper push
  3. 2026-08-07 11:22 UTC North Macedonia renewables, gas link & copper push
  4. 2026-08-05 17:25 UTC North Macedonia renewables, gas link & mineral push
  5. 2026-07-30 15:28 UTC North Macedonia renewables, gas corridor & minerals
  6. 2026-07-26 09:22 UTC North Macedonia renewables, gas corridor & minerals

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