SKOPJE - Sunny North Macedonia falls short of solar thermal expectations. Using solar thermal technology to convert sunlight into heat should be a no-brainer in North Macedonia. After all, it’s one of the world’s sunniest countries. But meager subsidies and insufficient regulation have stymied projects, despite the economic benefits that experts concur are there for the impoverished country.

"Macedonian sun for Macedonian energy," former prime minister Zoran Zaev announced in 2018; the country would use its plentiful sunshine to generate economic growth, he boasted. Five years later, the Balkan state – its flag emblazoned with a resplendent sun – is hardly racing towards its ambitious targets for solar thermal and photovoltaic energy. North Macedonian investigative journalist Daniela Trpchevska Zafirovska found that the high cost of investment, insufficient regulation, and lack of government support are the foremost obstacles to rolling out solar thermal technology on a wide scale in North Macedonia, despite overwhelming interest from the local population.

Supported
€8,700 allocated on 23/02/2022
ID:
ENV1/2022/038
Grant:
Environmental Journalism

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