Hydropower Projects on Balkan Rivers 2024 Update

Every two years, we analyse the situation of hydropower development in the Balkans, updating the data on existing and planned hydropower plants (HPPs) as well as those currently under construction. Moreover, we assess how many of these projects are located in protected areas. Since the last update in 2022, 110 HPPs have come into operation, leaving another 1,100 river kilometres devastated.

The 2024 data update found that

• 3,188 HPPs are planned in the region, 94 are currently under construction, and 1,836 are operational;
• 92% of the planned projects are small HPPs (less than 10 MW); and
• almost half of the projects are planned or under construction within protected areas.

A comparison of the data since 2015 shows that we succeeded in slowing down the dam tsunami. Furthermore, the number of projects under implementation has steadily decreased since 2017. This success is also reflected in the suspension of 452 HPPs, which are no longer considered feasible for implementation. Notably, these include 26 HPPs in the Vjosa Wild River National Park in Albania, fifteen projects along the Neretvica River in BiH, and 405 projects in Greece. In BiH, additional suspensions are expected following recent changes to the Law on Electricity in the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, leading to the suspension of at least 116 projects.