Construction of Serbia’s first geothermal district heating system kicks off
The municipality of Bogatić should get Serbia’s first geothermal district heating system by the beginning of the heating season, with this renewable energy source to be first used to heat public facilities and later to be made available to individuals and businesses, representatives of the municipality announced. The new geothermal heating system will result in […]
Green Party proposes draft of new environmental impact assessment law over SHPPs
The Green Party has submitted a proposal of a draft new environmental impact assessment law to introduce a mandatory impact assessment for small hydropower plants (SHPPs), the party said on its website. The Green Party advocates a complete ban on the construction of SHPPs in protected areas and national parks. “Protected areas and national parks […]
Minister to seek changes to nature protection law over small hydropower plants
Serbian Minister of Environmental Protection Goran Trivan has announced an initiative to change the country’s nature protection law to avert the construction of small hydropower plants (HPP) in protected areas, after his recent attempt to pull approval for the Pakleštica small HPP, threatening to hurt biodiversity in the Visočica river basin, was quashed by a […]
Serbia sees waste from commercial activities rise 3.3% in 2017
Waste generated from commercial activities in Serbia in 2017 increased 3.3% compared to the previous year, to 48.9 million metric tons, the Statistics Office has said in a news release. Of the total, 64.7% was non-hazardous waste and 35.3% hazardous waste. By activity, declines in waste generation were reported by agriculture, 6.3%, mining, 0.8%, water […]
Returns on green investments are down, but so are costs
On the sidelines of the Green for Growth Fund’s (GGF) recently held Sustainable Future Forum and the grand finale of the clim@ pitching competition for startups, Christopher Knowles, who at the time served as chairman of the GGF, spoke to Balkan Green Energy News about the impact of innovative solutions, return on green investments, and […]
China’s Belt and Road in Balkan coal dead end & why the EU should care
Author: Igor Kalaba, Energy Policy Coordinator for South East Europe, CAN Europe Governments in the Western Balkans have developed a liking for taking out Chinese loans to buy new Chinese coal plants in order to burn Balkan coal. These loans are presented to the public as investments although both China and Balkan governments know that […]
HSE shuts down another obsolete unit of coal-fired Šoštanj power plant
Slovenian state energy company Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE) has shut down another environmentally and technologically outdated unit of the country’s largest coal-fired energy facility, the Šoštanj thermal power plant (TPP). The most recently closed unit of TPP Šoštanj, the 275 MW Unit 4, reached the end of its life after 46 years of operation, according […]
Green Action sues ministry for giving green light for HES Kosinj hydropower complex
Croatia’s civil society organization Green Action has filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court in Rijeka against the positive environmental impact assessment of the Environmental Protection and Energy Ministry for the HES Kosinj hydropower complex. In mid-June, Croatia’s state power utility (HEP) received approval from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy for the construction […]