From August 2025 through July 2026, low-carbon sources supplied almost two-thirds of North Macedonia’s electricity consumption, at about 63%. Solar led with around 40%, followed by hydropower at nearly 19% and wind at about 4%. Fossil fuels supplied a further 28%: coal accounted for about 18%, gas for 9%, and oil for just over 1%. Net imports covered the remaining 9%; their generation mix is not specified. Clean electricity therefore has a clear lead, although replacing fossil generation remains important for reducing climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in North Macedonia?

Electricity consumption per person is growing beyond its previous peak, while clean electricity generation is rising much faster. The latest 2026 consumption figure is about 4,730 kWh per person, roughly 105 kWh—or 2%—above the previous record set in 2011. Low-carbon generation reached about 2,970 kWh per person, around 1,060 kWh—or 55%—above its previous record in 2025. This strong clean-electricity growth is encouraging, although the modest increase in consumption above a record set 15 years earlier highlights the importance of sustained expansion to support electrification and growing digital demand.

Suggestions

North Macedonia should build on solar’s substantial contribution by expanding rooftop installations and larger solar projects, alongside grids and storage that help deliver their electricity when needed. Nearby regions offer useful examples for diversifying clean generation: Greece produces about 21% of its electricity from wind and Croatia about 15%, demonstrating opportunities worth assessing locally. Nuclear power also deserves serious consideration, including regional cooperation: Bulgaria generates about 37% of its electricity from nuclear, Slovenia about 40%, and Slovakia nearly two-thirds. Learning from these regional examples could help North Macedonia combine further solar expansion with wind and dependable low-carbon nuclear electricity.

History

Historically, North Macedonia’s low-carbon electricity changes were dominated by hydropower. During the 1990s, hydro generation rose by 0.4 TWh in 1991, fell by 0.3 TWh in 1993, and recovered by 0.3 TWh in 1999. The 2000s brought further fluctuations, including gains of 0.6 TWh in 2003 and 0.4 TWh in 2009. A particularly strong 1.2 TWh increase in 2010 was followed by disappointing declines totaling 1.4 TWh across 2011 and 2012. Further gains and setbacks alternated through the rest of the decade, followed by a 0.3 TWh hydro increase in 2023. More recently, solar has delivered accelerating progress: generation increased by 0.5 TWh in 2024, 0.9 TWh in 2025, and 1.6 TWh in 2026—a combined gain of 3 TWh across those annual increases.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.