Renewables

Romania, Serbia to advance cooperation in gas, hydropower sectors

Handanovic Romania Serbia advance cooperation gas hydropower sectors

Photo: Emilija Jovanović / Ministry of Mining and Energy

Published

January 18, 2024

Country

,

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

January 18, 2024

Country:

,

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia Dubravka Đedović Handanović spoke today with Minister of Energy of Romania Sebastian Burduja about bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, the gas interconnection project and new investments in hydropower.

Đedović Handanović pointed out that the two countries traditionally have good and friendly relations, a foundation for advancing cooperation in the energy sector.

“Romania is Serbia’s friendly neighboring country with which we foster strong bilateral relations in many spheres, and energy represents a strong pillar of our cooperation. We have been successfully developing cooperation in the electric power sector for decades, whereas hydropower plants on the Danube have represented a pillar for a secure electricity supply in both countries for 60 years now. At this point in time, we require the construction of new pumped storage hydropower plants more than ever, so that we achieve energy transition goals and integrate RES capacities into our system more easily. PSHPP Bistrica and PSHPP Đerdap 3 are among the most important energy projects. They will change the energy landscape of our country and enable the balancing of variable energy sources,” she stated.

The two countries are jointly running hydropower plants Iron Gate 1 and 2 (Đerdap 1 and 2), Serbia’s biggest ones, on their border on the Danube. In Romanian, they are called Porțile de Fier 1 and 2. Đerdap 3 is Serbia’s pumped storage hydropower project.

Preliminary study underway for Đerdap 3 pumped storage hydropower plant

The preliminary feasibility study for PSHPP Đerdap 3 is under development and it will show the project’s technical and economic feasibility, Đedović Handanović said. She spoke with her counterpart on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Central and South Eastern Europe energy connectivity (CESEC) high-level working group. “To us it is very important to discuss this potential project with the Romanian partners because of its regional impact”, the minister asserted.

The interconnection with Bulgaria enables the delivery of gas from Greece and Azerbaijan

Đedović Handanović stressed regional interconnectivity in the gas sector is Serbia’s strategic objective and that it should improve the security of gas supply.

“Late last year we put the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnection into trial operation, enabling the diversification of sources and supply as well as the delivery from the LNG terminal in Greece and of gas from Azerbaijan. Our plan is to connect with other neighbors as well, first with North Macedonia and Romania, and to additionally secure the supply to our citizens and companies, but also the gasification of the southern and eastern parts of our country,” the minister said.

Mokrin-Arad gas pipeline is among priorities

The Government of Serbia recognized the project for a gas pipeline between Mokrin in Serbia and Arad in Romania as one of the priorities and it should be built by 2026, Đedović Handanović added. She revealed that she expects a memorandum of understanding that would include the topic to be signed soon.

The minister said Serbia has increased its bilateral electricity transmission capacities with Romania with the construction of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor and that the Beogrid project envisages doubling the capacity.

Burduja informed his counterpart with the energy transition plans and highlighted the need to build pumped storage hydropower plants, saying that they would accelerate the process, the Ministry of Mining and Energy of Serbia said.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

Shopping mall operator break ground major solar power plant Romania

Shopping mall operator to break ground on major solar power plant in Romania

01 December 2024 - Monsson Group sold a 50 MW photovoltaic project in northwest Romania to shopping mall operator NEPI Rockcastl

croatia renewable energy projects hgk marija sculac

Around 40 renewable energy projects pending in Croatia

29 November 2024 - Power grid bottlenecks could jeopardize connecting new power plants to the system but also the operation of the ones already online

Serbia Energy Sector Development Strategy 2040 2050

What does Serbia’s new Energy Sector Development Strategy bring

29 November 2024 - The National Assembly in Belgrade passed the Energy Sector Development Strategy of Serbia up to 2040 with Projections up to 2050

European Commission energy affordability decarbonization

New European Commission weighing energy affordability versus decarbonization goals

28 November 2024 - The European Union wants to maintain the rapid pace of decarbonization while enabling affordable energy prices