Fortis Energy COO-EE Velimir Gavrilović highlights renewable energy investments and policy challenges in Southeast Europe.

Fortis Energy COO-EE Velimir Gavrilovic highlights renewable energy investments and policy challenges in Southeast Europe.

Speaking to Balkan Green Energy News, Gavrilović emphasized the Fortis' leading role in the energy transition across Southeast Europe and outlined both the group's investment strategy and regulatory challenges impacting the sector.

"Fortis Group is one of the leaders of the energy transition in Southeast Europe," Gavrilovic stated, underscoring the Fortis' active presence in renewable energy. He highlighted Fortis’s large-scale operational solar power plants in Türkiye and North Macedonia, along with biogas facilities in Serbia and Türkiye.

Gavrilović noted that Fortis currently has a development pipeline of approximately 2 gigawatts of renewable energy projects across the region. In Serbia alone, Fortis is developing 1 gigawatt of projects, split between wind and solar energy. Additional developments include 600 megawatts of mainly solar capacity in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia, with exploratory efforts underway in Spain and Italy.

Addressing sector challenges, Gavrilović pointed to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as an uncertainty. “It remains unclear what the real cost burden will be on electricity produced in the region,” he said, noting the implications for both producers and industrial consumers.

Gavrilović concluded by noting that the energy summits are highlighting key investment challenges in the region, reinforcing the importance of dialogue between industry leaders and policymakers.