Montenegro finds itself at a key inflection point. The only coal-fired thermal power plant in the country, Yugoslav Thermal Power Plant Pljevlja (TPP Pljevlja), with an installed capacity of about 225 MW, has for decades been the backbone of domestic generation and is now scheduled for gradual shutdown. (OECD) Its decommissioning raises fundamental questions about […]
Europe’s pursuit of strategic autonomy in raw materials, electrification metals and industrial processing capacity is entering a decade defined by volatile energy markets, shifting logistics routes, geopolitical fragmentation and competition for midstream value creation. ReSourceEU has marked Europe’s strategic intent, but the 2030–2040 horizon will determine whether Europe becomes a competitive processing region or remains
South-East Europe is moving through a period of structural change, driven by accelerating renewable deployment, constrained transmission corridors, and a new continental price geography that increasingly radiates outward from the European Union’s core. The region stretching from Hungary through Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, and continuing across the Adriatic through Montenegro toward Italy, forms
Traders’ hydro-volatility map for SEE Read More »
From a trader’s perspective, hydropower in South-East Europe is less about reservoirs and turbines and more about timing, asymmetry and correlation with wind and solar patterns. A hydro-volatility map of the region does not describe water levels; it describes how hydro behaviour amplifies or dampens spreads across borders and across time. The first dimension of
2030–2040 hydro-balancing forecast model for SEE Read More »
Between 2030 and 2040 hydropower in South-East Europe shifts from being primarily an energy source to being the central balancing instrument in a renewable-dominated system. The key feature of this decade is not how many terawatt-hours hydro plants generate, but how often and how flexibly they can be dispatched in response to solar and wind
Hydropower has always occupied a privileged position in South-East Europe’s electricity systems. Before solar and wind entered the mix, hydro served simultaneously as baseload, mid-merit and balancing capacity. It delivered firm energy during wet seasons, provided dispatchable flexibility for system operators and anchored frequency stability across weak and heavily fragmented Balkan grids. Yet as the
South-East Europe is entering a period where the spread and balancing environment becomes more profitable—and more dangerous—than at any time in the region’s modern electricity history. The fundamental driver is structural mismatch: renewable ramping outpacing system flexibility, coal fleets losing baseload stability, hydropower losing predictability and balancing markets evolving more slowly than the volatility they
South-East Europe has entered the decisive phase of its energy transition, a moment when renewable expansion has become irreversible yet system adaptation remains incomplete. Across Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Croatia, wind and solar are accelerating faster than the physical and institutional infrastructure required to support them. The result is a
Using coal fundamentals in short-term spread strategies in SEE power markets Read More »
A trader’s guide to converting lignite production signals into actionable price intelligence Short-term electricity trading in South-East Europe revolves around two fundamental realities: the physical nature of the grid and the behaviour of the generating fleet. Among all conventional technologies, coal remains the single most structurally influential asset class across the region. Its importance is
Coal production in South-East Europe remains a defining component of the region’s energy system. Unlike international hard-coal markets, SEE coal is primarily lignite, mined domestically and consumed domestically in power plants located close to the pits. The economics, quality, logistics and production reliability of this lignite sector have substantial implications for electricity markets, price formation
