Kosovo* to adopt renewables share targets for 2031, 2050

Kosovo*’s energy strategy for 2022 to 2031 will be presented in January, Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli said and revealed the government aims to raise the share of renewables in electricity consumption to between 25% and 30%.

A working group consisting of domestic and foreign experts is drafting a ten-year energy strategy for Kosovo* since June with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “We must provide security of supply for both households and businesses, so that we have a normal life for citizens as consumers, as well as economic, industrial development and employment in the country,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at a conference about the document.

Setting stage for decarbonization, fair transition

The first national energy strategy will be unveiled in January, Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli asserted. She added the share of renewable energy sources in electricity consumption, now at 5%, should be lifted to 25% or 30% by 2031 and to 50% by mid-century.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli both stressed the importance of the security of supply

The government wants to ensure an energy transition with decarbonization while maintaining energy security and affordability for consumers and ensuring regional integration of the energy market in an economically sustainable way, according to Rizvanolli.

Kosovo* gets 95% of the domestically produced electricity from two obsolete lignite-fired power plants: Kosova A and Kosova B.

Kurti said the document’s development would define action plans for a fair energy transition and regional cooperation, “primarily with Albania, but also with other countries.” He pointed to competing support schemes as examples of ways to help lower prices for clean energy development, the government said in an announcement.

Endorsement of EU, UN climate goals

The goals in the energy sector and Kosovo*’s stance are in line with the reforms that are being adopted and that are being promoted at European level as well as those from the recent COP26 United Nations Conference on Climate Change, the prime minister stressed. Kurti promised support schemes for low- and middle-income families for installing rooftop solar panels and conducting energy efficiency measures.

Kurti promised support schemes for low- and middle-income families for installing rooftop solar panels and conducting energy efficiency measures

The energy transmission and distribution systems will start preparing for the integration of more renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power, he underscored.

Of note, president-elect of capital Prishtina Përparim Rama has just promised subsidies, particularly for poorer families in the city, for the replacement of heating boilers and furnaces with cleaner solutions.