Top 3 in August: Danube pollution, rise of e-scooters, op-ed on renewable energy incentives in Croatia

The Top 3 Most Read articles on Balkan Green Energy News in August are in. The list is also available for our portal’s Serbian/local language version.

1 – Danube polluted with faeces in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria

The River Danube is polluted with faeces along its course in Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria, with the situation particularly alarming in large Serbian cities such as Novi Sad and Belgrade, where concentrations of Escherichia coli are very high, according to a microbiological survey carried out by a group of Austrian scientists.

The “critical” faecal pollution of the Danube in Serbia, which is not an EU member state, is due to the fact that the country does not have wastewater treatment plants, according to Austrian scientists, local media reported.

Danube polluted with faeces in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria

2 – E-scooters on the rise in Serbia: 35,000 sold within months in Belgrade alone

Electric scooters seem to have flooded streets in Serbia. In Belgrade alone, 35,000 e-scooters have been sold in a matter of months, public service broadcaster RTS reported.

According to experts contacted by the broadcaster, the environmentally friendly mode of transportation should not be banned, but rules for the operation of e-scooters need to be introduced. And, A Novi Sad resident has launched a petition to change the law and ban underage e-scooter riding over a bad experience she had while cycling with her daughter, N1 reported.

E-scooters on the rise in Serbia: 35,000 sold within months in Belgrade alone

3 – Croatia: from incentives to premiums until renewable energy target is reached

With its 36.4% renewable energy target, set under its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), Croatia is one of the most ambitious EU member states. This sends a clear signal to investors that the country seeks to fully utilize its natural renewable energy potential, Maja Pokrovac, Managing Director at Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia (RES Croatia), said in an op-ed for Balkan Green Energy News.

This year, Croatia is in the process of adopting its new Energy Strategy, which notes the country’s strong renewable energy potential, of 8,000 MW to 9,000 MW for solar and wind energy each.

Croatia: from incentives to premiums until renewable energy target is reached