Use of private sources in implementation of infrastructure projects is a financing concept that has become attractive in the last few decades in the area of construction and maintenance of the public sector infrastructure, as well as construction of industrial facilities. This organizational structure defines the rights and responsibilities of the partners, which also enables distribution of responsibilities related to provision of necessary resources and risk allocation among the partners. During the structuring of the project, a special role is given to financial institutions, which most often appear as private investors, so the topic of this paper is a research of possibilities created by participation of the private sector in the financing of energy infrastructure projects in Serbia. The paper aimed to point to the opportunities at the disposal of the public sector in Serbia, but also the private investors interested in strategic projects in the energy sector. The contribution of this paper is reflected in the derived model of economic and non-economic benefits, which would a private investor and a representative of the public sector face while making a decision to invest in small hydroelectric power plants, taking into account the circumstances characteristic of the renewable energy sources market in Serbia. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.