North Macedonia – the country formerly known as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – has drafted plans to end its use of coal by 2040 at the latest and 2025 at the earliest. Three scenarios are part of the strategy document, two with a target 2025 date that involve closing the Bitola coal-fired power plant, and the 2040 scenario which incorporates Bitola serving its originally planned lifetime. According to Reuters, the two 2025 options are the least-cost ones when EU carbon prices are taken into account. (North Macedonia is seeking entry into the EU.) Details are scarce in the report, but the costs of the health impacts of coal firing may also be factored into the assessments, with 1600 North Macedonians estimated to die prematurely as a result of air pollution per year.

Meanwhile, North Macedonia has issued a request for tenders to transform a coal mine into a solar power station with two units and a combined design output capacity of 100 MW.