The most important mechanisms for opening the Serbian market for biomass are in the recently adopted Law on Energy, and further regulation is due before the year’s end, covering matters such as guarantees of origin and the share of energy from renewable sources in consumption, said Mirjana Filipović, state secretary in the Ministry for Mining and Energy, at the ’Sustainable Growth from Biomass’ conference in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.
The event was organised by the Embassy of Finland in Serbia, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SKGO). A business delegation from Finland, on an official visit to the country, participated at the conference, headed by Matti Anttonen, the under-secretary of state responsible for external economic relations. He said the share of renewables in his country would soon reach 30 % and that already 90 % of waste is being incinerated.
Miloš Banjac, Serbian assistant energy minister responsible for efficiency and renewable sources, presented a USD 30.5 million worth project for ’Reducing Barriers to Accelerate Development of Biomass Markets in Serbia’, implemented by UNDP and the Serbian ministries of energy and agriculture and environmental protection. It is also partly funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Grants of USD 1.6 million shall be approved for the construction of at least six biomass or biogas powered plants.
UNDP energy portfolio manager Maja Matejić announced the start of the project’s two-year component for developing an info portal on biomass, intended to grow into a commodity market for its standardised products. The transactions are planned to become regulated by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.
Miodrag Gluščević from the SKGO presented a project named ’Mapping of the Municipal Spatial, Infrastructural, Resource Related and Logistic Prerequisites for Electricity and/or Heat Generation from Biomass in the Srem District’ (Sremski okrug), funded by Finland.
The final presentation of the EUR 55,000 worth project had already been held on March 17 in the town of Ruma, Regional Development Agency Srem (RDA Srem) said. The meeting, attended by representatives of all the county municipalities and of interested local institutions, was opened by Đorđe Staničić, Secretary General SKGO, which applied for the funds with RDA Srem.
The audience in Ruma was addressed by Pekka Orpana, Finland’s ambassador to Serbia, who emphasized that this country gets 40 % of its heating from biomass, and aims for further enhancing its utilization, and that therefore the funding of the project is one way of supporting the development of renewable energy sources in Serbia. He stressed the importance of the recently finished project, noting that it is one of the most important ones in this area funded by the Embassy of Finland in Serbia.
“We were glad to support this project, which is very well written. We have professionals and top companies in this field. As you know, Finland is the coldest country in Europe and energy from biomass significantly improved our energy sector… All distributing companies, whether private or state owned, are exceptionally profitable, even though heating is among the cheapest in Europe. We have a very developed forest industry and it is our main resource for biomass. On the other hand, the Syrmian region has great potential for agricultural biomass production, and production from waste is always possible,“ Orpana said.
The study by university professor Dejan Ivezić was presented at the event, Ruma’s municipal website said. The document included all seven municipalities and the next step is building a biomass-powered heating facility in Ruma’s Tivol neighbourhood, Milan Mirić from Srem Regional Development agency said.
