Clean Energy in South East Europe

"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.