Montenegro has made significant strides in its transition toward renewable energy, already meeting approximately 45 percent of its energy consumption from renewable sources and setting an ambitious target of achieving 50 percent renewable energy share by 2030. To realise this ambition while safeguarding nature and community values, the Smart Siting Guide: Montenegro offers a detailed, data-driven roadmap for identifying optimal locations for utility-scale solar and wind development that minimise environmental and social conflicts.
The Smart Siting Guide builds on a national initiative known as the Montenegro Energy Growth and Acceleration (MEGA) project, launched in October 2024 by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in collaboration with the Montenegrin NGO Eco-Team and supported by key government ministries, the Montenegrin Investment Agency, international financial institutions and the Energy Community Secretariat. The central challenge the guide addresses is straightforward but complex: how can Montenegro accelerate renewable energy deployment while protecting biodiversity, cultural heritage and local communities?
TNC’s smart siting methodology combines comprehensive spatial analysis, stakeholder engagement, and expert input to generate detailed maps and assessments of renewable energy potential. The approach systematically filters out areas where development would create significant conflict — such as protected natural zones, high-value agricultural land, culturally sensitive sites and densely populated settlements — and prioritises locations with strong wind or solar resources, proximity to grid infrastructure, and lower ecological and social risk.
The MEGA study produced an unprecedented spatial database for the entire country, pinpointing areas with high potential for solar and wind development. According to the analysis, Montenegro has sufficient low-conflict sites to host approximately 15,630 MW of solar capacity across around 156 square kilometres, and about 650 MW of wind capacity across roughly 65 square kilometres. In total, the combined potential of low-conflict sites is roughly 17 times greater than the country’s existing installed power capacity, underscoring the scale of opportunity for renewable expansion.
A notable part of the mapping effort focused on so-called “brownfield” sites — previously developed or underutilised lands such as former industrial facilities, quarries, and landfills. These locations offer several advantages for renewable energy projects: they avoid further conversion of natural or agricultural lands, often possess existing infrastructure, and tend to pose lower environmental and social risk. The study found that brownfield areas with medium to high development potential could support around 346 MW of solar capacity, enough in theory to replace a significant share of generation from Montenegro’s largest coal power plant.
Smart siting also emphasised engagement with national and local stakeholders. The project team included national experts in energy systems, geospatial analysis, biodiversity, spatial planning and social value assessment, and multiple consultations were held in municipalities such as Cetinje, Nikšić and Pljevlja to collect direct public spatial input. This inclusive process not only enriched the datasets used in the study but also helped validate the conflict assessments and development priorities.
Despite the strong renewable potential identified, Montenegro faces several challenges to deployment. Financing gaps, lengthy permitting processes and limited grid capacity can slow project progress, especially where planned installations intersect with existing land uses. Smart siting is designed to mitigate these risks by directing investment toward areas where permitting hurdles, community opposition and ecological impacts are likely to be lower, and by providing clarity for grid planning and optimisation.
The findings of the MEGA study indicate that Montenegro can meet its national 2030 renewable energy targets by developing just one-fifth of the available low-conflict sites into operational wind and solar projects. This suggests not only that the country’s ambitions are attainable, but that there is substantial room to accelerate beyond current goals if smart spatial planning continues to guide decision-making.
To turn these insights into sustained progress, the Smart Siting Guide outlines recommendations for policymakers, planners and investors. It encourages the Government of Montenegro to integrate the low-conflict mapping into national legislation and spatial planning frameworks, and to use it as a basis for designating Renewable Acceleration Areas in strategic documents. Spatial planning authorities are urged to incorporate the maps into local and national plans, while grid operators and the Ministry of Energy and Mining are advised to use the data to inform infrastructure development and auction design.
From an investment perspective, the guide calls on the Montenegrin Investment Agency, commercial banks and international donors to leverage the study’s outputs when evaluating project proposals, identifying sustainable locations and channeling finance toward initiatives aligned with both climate goals and ecological preservation. By prioritising low-conflict sites, developers can reduce the risk of delays and public opposition, and support a renewable energy rollout that aligns economic and environmental objectives.
The Smart Siting Guide thus represents a practical intersection of energy policy, conservation science and community engagement. It positions Montenegro not only to meet its renewable energy commitments but to serve as a model for responsible, nature-inclusive energy transformation across Southeast Europe and beyond.
