Excise duties on biomass and renewables in Croatia would be “dangerous precedent”
The introduction of excise duties on biomass and other renewables in Croatia was the main topic during the International Conference on Biomass and Renewable Energy Sources held in Zagreb. The representatives of the Croatian Wood Cluster, which has been the conference organizer for seven years in a row, have warned that the introduction of the excise duties […]
Agreement on first renewables development analysis in Croatia signed
The Croatian Ministry of Environment and Energy, Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS), Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE) and the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar (EIHP) signed an agreement on the analysis of the renewable energy sources (RES) development. The signing of the agreement is a first step in the development of an integrated analysis of the […]
Small is not (always) beautiful: small hydro development in the Western Balkans
By Igor Vejnović, Hydropower Policy Officer, CEE Bankwatch Network It has long been recognized that the human and environmental costs of large dams are extremely high — just recently the failure of the overflow channels at the Oroville dam, California, almost triggered a tragedy. Across the Balkans, however, instead of coming up with genuinely new ideas, […]
Government of Cyprus to establish renewable energy agency
The government of Cyprus is planning to establish the renewable energy agency that will draft and implement a national renewable action plan. Legislation to enable this is in the process of preparation. Currently, there are several institutions in charge of renewable energy sources (RES) and climate change policies: the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and […]
UNDP project for local communities more resilient to climate change
The project “Local development resilient to climate change” officially started with the signing of the project document by project’s partners representatives: Stana Božović, state secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and Steliana Nedera, deputy UNDP representative . “The aim of the project is to identify the needs of municipal governments, primarily in […]
SINCRO.GRID project to secure regional electricity supply
Four Slovenian and Croatian transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs) are implementing the SINCRO.GRID project aimed to secure regional electricity supply. The SINCRO.GRID project implements an innovative cross-border approach with the aim to solve short-term operational security issues impacting Slovenia, Croatia and the whole South-Eastern Europe (SEE) region. A key aspect of the […]
Bulgarian NEK and Austrian EVN agree on debt settlement
Austrian energy company EVN and the Bulgarian National Electricity Company (NEK) reached an agreement to settle a debt worth BGN 192 million (EUR 98,2 million). The settled amount remains unknown, but EVN said in a statement that the agreement will increase its net income by EUR 38 million in the second quarter of this year. […]
Statkraft invested EUR 150 million to construct HPP Moglice
Norwegian company Statkraft has so far invested EUR 150 million in the construction of Moglice hydro power plant, its second plant on the Devoll River in the southeast of Albania. The construction site was visited by the minister for energy and industry Damian Gjinkuri, who said that Statkraft is being mindful of the environment. “The […]