North Macedonia
North Macedonia’s NERP was adopted in 2017, without any public consultations or a strategic environmental assessment. It covers all eight existing large combustion plants from the energy sector, out of which three are coal-fired, one uses heavy oil and two are fossil gas heating plants that have been at least partially operational during the plan’s implementation period. The remaining two are boilers in the old oil refinery which, although not officially closed, has not been operational for more than ten years.
SO2 emissions from coal combustion in 2024 were lower than those in 2023, but remained very high at 87,770 tonnes. However, they are further above the national ceiling than SO2 emissions were in 2023, at almost seven times as high as the allowed 15,855 tonnes.
As was the case in previous years, the stacks of Bitola B 1 & 2 and Bitola B3 were still the highest contributors in 2024. They emitted 62,625 and 22,314 tonnes, respectively. The emissions from Bitola B 1 & 2 were a staggering 11.4 times as much as the plant’s individual ceiling, and from Bitola B3 they were 9.4 times as high as the individual ceiling.
Dust emissions from coal-fired power generation dropped slightly in 2024 compared to 2023, but, at 3,393 tonnes, they are 2.5 times as high as the national ceiling of 1,361 tonnes.
North Macedonia’s reported NOx emissions continued to drop compared to 2022 and 2023. The 4,024 tonnes emitted in 2024 are well within the 2024 and even 2027 ceilings for NOx.
In March 2021, due to the breaches of the overall NERP ceilings, the Energy Community Secretariat opened a dispute settlement case against North Macedonia. In July 2023, the Secretariat submitted a reasoned request to the Ministerial Council to make a decision confirming non-compliance, which it did in December 2023. As the breaches have not been rectified, the case remains open in 2025.
Power plants in North Macedonia
