Montenegro’s partnership with Masdar targets development of up to 2 gigawatts of renewable capacity, but the announced projects do not by themselves establish that the investment is financed, built or connected to the grid. Government, company and contractor disclosures show a pipeline spanning solar, wind, hydropower and storage, while the economic return will depend on delivered generation and how much value remains in the country.
The energy cooperation agreement between the governments of Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates was signed in Abu Dhabi on 8 November 2025. Its scope includes renewable energy, infrastructure modernisation, energy storage and green hydrogen technologies. Montenegro’s Parliament voted again to approve the agreement on 19 March 2026, after the law was returned for reconsideration.
Montenegro Electric Power Company (EPCG) and Masdar agreed in January 2026 to consider setting up a joint venture and signed an agreement to form it in April. The planned company is to have equal 50% stakes and its headquarters in Nikšić. Its remit covers solar and wind farms, hydropower and different forms of electricity storage.
Projects still need delivery data
The UAE’s official announcement said agreements were signed in 2026 for the joint development of the Štedim and Krupac solar plants. Štedim is planned at 115 megawatts and Krupac at 35 megawatts. EPCG and Masdar have also agreed to consider reversible hydropower projects with combined capacity of more than 400 megawatts.
Those agreements and named projects mark development steps, not confirmation that every proposed capacity has secured financing, been constructed or gained a grid connection. Masdar has had an investment presence in Montenegro through its 2018 investment in Krnovo, but the broader partnership’s public value will require disclosure of EPCG’s contribution, the division of risks and profits, and any obligations assumed by the state.
Investors and the public would also need project timelines, construction and connection costs, financing arrangements, revenue projections and information on contracts awarded to domestic companies. Without those details, the headline capacity target cannot establish the amount invested, the likely public revenue or the local employment created.
Briska gora illustrates the difference between an announced investment and an operating asset. The solar plant was presented as a project worth about 210 million euros, with production previously expected to begin by the end of 2021. After delays and amendments to the contract, the Government of Montenegro cancelled the decision on the long-term lease of land for the project in September 2024.
The delay means production has been deferred and preparatory costs incurred, while public confidence has been weakened, according to the project assessment. A precise calculation of foregone benefits would require a separate accounting; the announced project value is not itself a measure of lost revenue.
Operating assets show different measures of return
Krnovo is an example of a large project that reached construction with financing in place. International financial institutions provided loans for the 72-megawatt wind farm. Gvozd, meanwhile, entered trial operation in May 2026. The published value of its first phase is 82 million euros, and expected annual production is about 150 gigawatt-hours.
Gvozd’s final economic performance will depend on actual output, financing and maintenance costs, and revenue. The trial-operation stage is distinct from a record of completed production, just as planned capacity should be separated from electricity already supplied to the grid.
Možura, a 46-megawatt wind farm opened in 2019 as a 90 million euro investment, has a longer operating record. It produced approximately 753.5 gigawatt-hours through the end of 2025, while the price difference paid through support measures amounted to about 15 million euros.
Možura Wind Park had an average of three employees in 2024, according to available business data. In 2025, the company recorded about 12 million euros in revenue and 1.4 million euros in net profit; a reliable employee count for that year has not been established. Direct company employment figures do not necessarily include workers hired by outside firms for maintenance, security and other services.
Construction jobs should be distinguished from permanent employment after a plant starts producing. Automated power stations can generate value with a small workforce, but direct jobs alone do not measure a project’s wider contribution. Generation, taxes, purchases from domestic suppliers and supply security also matter; a power plant cannot be assumed to replace industrial facilities employing hundreds or to stop emigration.
Revenue earned by a company is not the same as its contribution to domestic gross domestic product, and corporate profit is not government budget revenue. A full assessment would track wages, taxes, land rent and payments to local suppliers, alongside support payments and costs imposed on the power system.
Solar and grid investment widen the pipeline
Solar programmes allow households and businesses to cover part of their electricity use with their own generation. Contractor data for September 2026 recorded more than 11,000 rooftop systems, with combined capacity of about 110 megawatts. The savings for users depend on system costs, repayment, maintenance, output and the rules for settling electricity bills.
At Kapino polje, the manufacture of structures at the Željezara steelworks has been cited as an example of linking energy investment with domestic production. A phased build-out was reported in September 2026, with planned solar capacity of about 40 megawatts. Capacity under construction must be distinguished from plants already connected to the grid and producing electricity.
A construction permit has been issued for the Bogetići solar plant, whose investor has also announced battery storage and a start of operations in 2028. No reliable public figure has been established for permanent jobs at the project, which faces opposition from the Church and municipalities. Batteries could shift some solar supply to other hours, but their economic value will depend on the system built, its costs and market conditions.
Renexija and Sistem-MNE have announced planned investments of approximately 1.2 billion euros, but the published memorandum records business intent rather than financing secured for individual projects. Assessing delivery requires project-by-project details, the allocation of investment and confirmation of funding. Sistem-MNE had an average of nine employees in 2025, a figure for the existing company rather than projected employment on the proposed projects.
Grid upgrades are another part of the investment picture. CEDIS has contracted up to 35 million euros in financing for distribution-system digitalisation and smart meters. A tender for the first phase of a remote monitoring and control system for the distribution network was published at the end of 2025; the expected benefits include faster fault detection, fewer interruptions and more efficient operations.
Montenegro has also published a figure of about 70 million euros for reconstruction of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, an investment intended to extend operations and improve environmental performance. The reconstruction does not, by itself, replace electricity generation from coal. For the new projects and existing assets alike, the remaining test is whether financing, construction, grid connection and transparent reporting translate into measurable domestic returns.
