By the end of the year we will have a public call for the construction of mini-hydro power plants, Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic announced. Locations where these small power plants will be built will be agreed on Friday with representatives of local governments. Since there has been no open call for this job so far, investors made deals directly with the minister; the authorities announce that they will also review permits that have already been issued.
The Ministry of Energy is currently preparing rules for public invitation to investors for the construction of small hydro power plants. Since there has been no open call for this job so far, investors made deals directly with the minister; the authorities announce that they will also review permits that have already been issued.
– Before we announce a public tender for the construction of small hydro power plants, we need to consult and negotiate with the heads of municipalities in whose territories they would be built – says Mihajlovic, Minister of Energy.
– Today we will learn which local governments are interested in the job and very soon after that we will announce the call for applying for permits. All those who meet the requirements will be given a green light to “build” a mini-hydro power plant on local rivers.
Today only 31 mini-hydro power plants of total capacity 34.654 MW are operating and they annually produce 150 gigawatts.
The feed-in tariffs
Development of rules on feed-in tariffs is coming to an end, they say in the Ministry of Energy, and on December 10,a public hearing on the subject will be organized.
– There is a lot of pressure, that is why we hired the consulting companies EBRD and RFS to assist us in drafting regulations which would define the feed-in tariffs – said Zorana Mihajlovic, the Minister of Energy.
Source Serbia Energy Magazine