Sahmanovic: Green transition requires political determination

Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – Minister of Energy and Mining, Admir Sahmanovic said that the green energy transition is neither simple, cheap, nor quick, and it requires political determination, strong institutions, and a regulatory framework that provides certainty for investors while protecting the public interest.

Speaking at the conference “Montenegro on the Path of the Green Energy Transition,” organized by the Climate Change Centre at the University of Donja Gorica (UDG), Sahmanovic said that the transition is an extremely complex process and not merely a matter of passing a law, building a power plant, or launching an investment cycle.

“It is a process that lasts for years, often decades, and involves the simultaneous transformation of the economy, technology, the regulatory framework, and the way society understands development,” Sahmanovic said.

Ivana Vojinovic, Director of UDG’s Climate Change Centre, said the conference marked the concluding activity of the project “Empowering the Western Balkans Through Green Industrial Policies,” supported by the Open Society Foundation Western Balkans.

She recalled that Montenegro has undertaken clear obligations regarding energy transition and decarbonization through both its EU accession process and the Energy Community Treaty.

According to Vojinovic, Montenegro already has a relatively high share of renewable energy in electricity generation, primarily thanks to hydropower, which accounts for nearly 66 percent of installed capacity and typically produces around half of total electricity output.

“However, increasingly severe drought periods are causing fluctuations in generation, highlighting the need to diversify the energy mix through solar and wind power,” said Vojinovic.

Although solar energy has grown rapidly in recent years, especially through the Prosumer Programme, Vojinovic believes that Montenegro’s more than 2,000 annual sunshine hours indicate that solar potential remains underutilized.