ESM SPP Bitola 3

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

The EBRD is considering extending a sovereign-guaranteed loan of up to €37 million to JSC Elektrana Severna Makedonija (the "Company" or "ESM") to finance the development of the Bitola 3 PV plant. The project entails the construction of a 134 MWdc solar PV power plant on the site of the exhausted Bitola coal mine in North Macedonia (the "Project"). The total estimated cost of the Project is €87 million, which is to be co-financed with a €50 million sovereign guaranteed loan from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau ("KfW").

Project ID 56383

Status Exploratory

Location

North Macedonia

Business Sector

Energy

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Ivan Stojanovski
ivan.stojanovski@elem.com.mk
+389 70 582 521
+389 2 3149 160
https://www.esm.com.mk/
11 Oktomvri 9,1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

Project ID 56383

Status Exploratory

Location

North Macedonia

Business Sector

Energy

Notice Type

State

Approval Date

05 Nov 2025

Disclosure date

02 Sep 2025

Project Description

Project Objectives

The Project will deliver 134 MWdc of newly installed renewable energy capacity, generating approximately 175,947 MWh of green electricity annually and resulting in 130,729 tCO2 emission reductions. The Project is 100% GET and it's recognized as a key priority investment under the Just Energy Transition Investment Platform ("JETIP"), a flagship initiative launched in 2023 by Macedonian authorities, with technical support from the EBRD.

Transition Impact

ETI score: 66

The Project target the Green transition quality as it involves the construction and operation of a 134 MWdc PV power plant on the site of an exhausted coal mine in Bitola, therefore increasing green power generation capacity, and accelerating coal phase out in North Macedonia.

The Project also targets the Well Governed quality by contributing to the enhancement of the Company's corporate governance standards. This will be achieved through the implementation of anti-corruption measures, including targeted training programmes and the development of internal compliance policies and procedures. These efforts establish the groundwork for the Company's newly formed internal compliance department, enabling it to provide informed guidance and assessments on critical governance issues such as conflicts of interest and corruption.

Client Information

POWER PLANTS OF NORTH MACEDONIA JSC

ESM is the public electricity generation utility, fully owned by the Government of North Macedonia. The company provides approximately 90% of the entire domestic electricity production.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 37,000,000.00

Total Project Cost

EUR 87,000,000.00

Additionality

The EBRD offers financing that is not available in the market at required terms and conditions necessary to structure the Project. Moreover, the Bank is supporting the implementation of a comprehensive anti-corruption compliance programme. This includes the establishment of an effective compliance function responsible for oversight throughout the Company's operations, ensuring integrity and accountability throughout its activities. This is to be defined in an anti-corruption action plan, developed in collaboration with EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO).

Furthermore, the EBRD provides extensive energy sector knowledge, and its leadership in the Just Energy Transition Investment Platform (JETIP), which are material to the timely realisation of the Project's objectives, including support to strengthen the ESM's capacity.

Environmental and Social Summary

Categorised B (ESP 2024) as the impacts associated with the Project were readily identified and mostly site specific and can be addressed through the implementation of Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and Environmental and Social Action Commitment Plan - ESACP (Environmental and Social Action Plan is named as ESACP in this joint project with KfW).

An Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) was performed by an independent consultant committed by KfW, and it included review of ESM's E&S performance and capacity, project site and activities. As part of the Bank's ESDD, ESD has reviewed the independent ESDD report and all relevant E&S documentation. This has met the Bank requirements and is in line with IFI standards.

EBRD provided additional comments and requirements which were incorporated into ESACP to align with Bank's ESRs and best practice. A Non-technical Summary (NTS) and a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) have been prepared for the Project and will be disclosed by the Company.

ESDD has shown that E&S impacts associated to this Project are typical to similar PV solar power plants, mostly during the construction phase, including, but not limited to water use; short term impacts from construction and traffic increase; health and safety during construction and operation; labour issues and community engagement.

The Project does not involve physical displacement; however, will have some livelihood impacts on grazing lands for some animal herders and other private landowners along the route of underground transmission lands. The impacts are partial and temporary however a livelihood restoration framework was prepared during ESDD. This will be developed into a livelihood restoration plan in line with Bank's requirements, which is agreed in ESAP.

Risks to the health and safety of surrounding communities are limited and mostly related to the construction phase and can be avoided or mitigated through ESHS practices. Project ESMP includes measures to manage occupational and community H&S risks. The Project is not located near to sensitive human or biodiversity receptors.

Bio-diversity impacts were assessed during ESDD which are construction related temporary impacts which will be managed by bio-diversity protection/management measures as agreed in ESMP.

Risks on the supply chain of PV panel suppliers will be managed through integration of Bank's Management Approach requirements for sovereign projects in procurement requirements. Relevant measures on supply chain mapping, presentation of declaration and no objections of KfW and EBRD as well as verification of sourcing from assessed suppliers are also included in ESACP.

ESAP is structured to meet with requirements of ESRs and includes measures for management of contractors to further control and manage moderate risks. The Bank will monitor the project implementation through regular reporting and site visits if needed.

Green assessments

The Project is determined aligned with the mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement based on the application of the EBRD's Paris alignment approach for directly financed investments.

The Project is aligned with the mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement as it features on the joint-MDB aligned list under the category "Generation of renewable energy from solar, wind, wave power, run-of-the-river hydro, or geothermal with negligible lifecycle GHG emissions".

100% of the EBRD financing is classified as green finance, as it supports activities to achieve climate mitigation objectives through renewable energy deployment. The attribution is made in line with the methodology to determine the green finance attribution of EBRD investments.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Technical assistance will be provided to develop internal compliance policies and procedures. These will form the foundation for the Company's compliance function, enabling it to offer informed guidance and assessments on issues such as conflicts of interest and corruption.

Company Contact Information

Ivan Stojanovski
ivan.stojanovski@elem.com.mk
+389 70 582 521
+389 2 3149 160
https://www.esm.com.mk/
11 Oktomvri 9,1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

Implementation Summary

PSD Last Updated

02 Sep 2025

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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ESM SPP Bitola 3

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project Description

Project Objectives

Transition Impact

Client Information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total Project Cost

Additionality

Green assessments

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

Implementation Summary

PSD Last Updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)