May 19 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's economy minister Kreshnik Bekteshi on Tuesday said that the government has signed contracts with 23 investors for the construction of a total of 21 MW photovoltaic power plants on private land plots.
The plants, with installed capacity of 1 MW, 2 MW, 5 MW and 10 MW, will be backed by government premiums for 15 years after production starts, Bekteshi told a press conference streamed on the government's YouTube channel.
The investors have a three-year deadline to complete their construction.
In August the economy ministry published a tender for the construction of solar power plants with a combined installed capacity of 27 MW on private land plots. Some 44 companies submitted bids.
Earlier, the ministry called a tender for the construction of solar power plants with a combined installed capacity of 35 MW on state-owned land in Sveti Nikole and Makedonski Brod.
The government will pay about 420,000 euro ($460,675) per year in premiums for all contracts signed in the two tenders, Bekteshi said on Tuesday.
($ = 0.9117 euro)