Coal power plant Pljevlja likely to be shut down by 2030 – Montenegrin prime minister

The Pljevlja thermal power plant will most likely have to stop production in 2030 under the pressure of the Energy Community and due to European Union rules, said Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapić and the Minister of Finance and Social Welfare Milojko Spajić.

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić said the green transition must be implemented, and that the culmination of the process for Montenegro would be in 2030. During his appearance on the Pljevlja television, as reported by Vijesti, he said the state must create conditions for the development of companies able to accept employees from the sectors that will be affected by the energy transition.

The termination of the operation TPP Pljevlja is anticipated by 2030, the prime minister asserted, and cited economic parameters as the reason.

In April the Secretariat of the Energy Community initiated an infringement procedure against Montenegro for continuing to operate TPP Pljevlja despite the expiry of its sole thermal power plant’s opt-out period. Montenegro is planning the ecological reconstruction of TPP Pljevlja, and Prime Minister Krivokapić previously announced that the country’s national energy and climate plan (NECP) would set a deadline for a coal phaseout. Then, last month, the government announced it would end the use of the fossil fuel in 2035.

Spajić: There is a lot of pressure from Europe to implement the green transformation

Krivokapić now says Montenegro is economically conditioned to adapt its development according to the green agenda, so that the industry must be balanced with natural resources in Pljevlja. He added there are numerous possibilities in the areas of construction materials, wood processing, tourism and agriculture.

Minister of Finance and Social Welfare Milojko Spajić pointed out there is great pressure from Europe for a green transformation. He said the government has negotiators who know how to talk with partners from abroad regarding the future operation of TPP Pljevlja.

But, Montenegro has backup plans prepared, he said.

Spajić said that whatever the outcome of those negotiations would be, workers in TPP Pljevlja would not be thrown out on the street. He also mentioned the possibility to modernize the power plant, or to convert it to biomass or natural gas.