Masdar Signs 190 MWp Solar and 400 MW Pumped Hydro Deals With Montenegro's EPCG

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar) has signed three agreements with Montenegrin utility EPCG covering 190 MWp of solar capacity and studies for more than 400 MW of reversible hydropower, the first step toward a development portfolio of up to two GW of renewable capacity in Montenegro, EPCG chief executive Zdravko Dragas said.

The contracts break down into the Stedim solar plant at 140 MWp, the Krupac solar plant at 50 MWp, and more than 400 MW of potential reversible hydropower projects. The reversible hydro component is framed as a feasibility exercise rather than a construction commitment: the agreements cover examining the possibility of developing pumped storage above 400 MW.

Dragas said the cooperation with Masdar is one of the most important development turning points for EPCG in the last several years. Masdar develops projects across every continent and is targeting 100 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2030, according to Dragas.

Against that target, the Montenegrin pipeline is a small increment. The two GW development portfolio Dragas describes would equal a fraction of Masdar's stated 2030 ambition, and the 190 MWp of contracted solar is smaller still. What the deal adds is a pairing of daytime photovoltaic output with pumped storage in the same national market, a structure that matters more for dispatch than for headline megawatts.

EPCG comes to the agreements from a stronger operating position. The utility posted net profit of EUR 36.47 million in the first quarter of 2026, with revenue up and operating expenses down. Preliminary data point to net profit of about EUR 15 million for the first half of 2026, a result achieved under unfavourable hydrological conditions.

Generation reached 1,656 GWh in the first half of 2026, against 1,058 GWh in the same period a year earlier. Market sales rose to 542 GWh from 429 GWh over the same comparison. Sales revenue moved from EUR 53.49 million in the first half of 2025 to EUR 57.04 million, an increase of roughly EUR 3.55 million.

Carbon exposure is already priced into the utility's trading. About 27 GWh was sold directly on the CROPEX exchange, and EPCG expects a cost of around EUR 1 million in 2027 on the basis of those sales under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). That charge attaches to a company whose thermal fleet is mid-way through an emissions overhaul.

The ecological reconstruction of the Pljevlja thermal power plant, including adaptation of the boiler and the chimney and related projects, carries a total works value of approximately EUR 75 million. Measurements show sulphur dioxide emissions cut by 98.4% and nitrogen oxide emissions down by about 74%.

The combination is what makes the Masdar agreements legible to a global developer. A utility retrofitting a coal unit to comply with tightening emissions limits, facing a quantified CBAM bill on cross-border sales, and reporting rising market volumes has both the balance sheet and the regulatory pressure to underwrite new solar and storage. For Masdar, chasing 100 GW by 2030 means signing in markets of this size as well as at gigawatt scale.

Dragas said the signed agreements are the first step in creating the two GW portfolio. Neither the Stedim nor the Krupac plant has a disclosed construction start, and the reversible hydropower capacity remains at the study stage.