Electricity

Yugoslav energy projects need dust wiped off

Published

September 2, 2015

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

September 2, 2015

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

“Lack of good energy policy leaves us under threat of poverty and unemployment, and health risks,” said Aleksandra Tomić, chairwoman of the Serbian Parliamentary Energy Policy Forum, opening the body’s third meeting in the form of a public debate on the Proposal of Energy Development Strategy until 2025 with projections until 2030. The House of the National Assembly hosted the event.

Mirjana Filipović, state secretary at the Ministry of Mining and Energy, said the draft strategy represents “a wish list” and that an implementation plan will be the next important document to be adopted.

Janez Kopač, head of Energy Community Secretariat, based in Vienna, stressed the way forward is accepting regional projects and utilizing domestic potentials, as there are not going to be any projects such as South Stream. He said Yugoslavia had an exceptional energy concept and that “dust should be wiped off those projects.” Kopač underscored the security of supply has emerged as the most popular issue from the trinity it makes with competitiveness and sustainability, former major focal points for policy in the European Union.

Branko Kovačević, head of the Supervisory Board of the Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS), told participants of the debate that the strategy needs to include global changes in the energy sector, namely decarbonization. This means lignite-fuelled power plants, the source of most electricity in Serbia, will be shutting down, at an unknown scale or speed, he said. Kovačević, also the dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, added energy efficiency is an industry in the making, and that a country should decide if it wants to buy technology or participate in its development.

Closing the initial debate, Sonja Licht, president of Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, said that five years into debates she participates in Serbia still has no wind power plants, even though “it cannot afford not to have them.”

At a round table for renewables and energy efficiency, Miloš Banjac, assistant minister of energy, said Serbia cannot give up on lignite but that it can use it more efficiently and with cleaner technology. He stressed the national potential of green energy is 50% of its consumption.

Gaetano Massara, regional chief executive for General Electric, insisted the government should adopt power purchase agreements for the renewable energy sector, as there is high risk that investors could leave the market. The state’s planned incentives are prudent and it wouldn’t be a good move to lower tariffs before the construction of wind farms with an overall capacity of 500 MW, set by obligatory quota for the share of power from renewable sources, he underscored.

Related Articles

bih citizen energy renewable energy communities republic of srpska miljevic

Significant step for citizen energy in BiH – Republic of Srpska enables establishment of first renewable energy communities in region

12 May 2025 - The Republic of Srpska, one of the two entities making up BiH, adopted a rulebook on renewable energy communities

Second HVDC cable from mainland Greece to Crete coming online

Second HVDC link from mainland Greece to Crete coming online

12 May 2025 - IPTO is completing the last elements of the Ariadne Interconnection project, one of the deepest subsea links in the world

Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 sponsors

Everything is ready for Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 – welcome!

11 May 2025 - On May 14 and 15, Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 will gather four hundred participants from more then 30 countries from the region, Europe, and beyond

Bulgaria IBEX guarantees of origin market

Bulgaria’s IBEX launches guarantees of origin market

09 May 2025 - The first four participants registered last month at the guarantees of origin platform of the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX)