Electric energy obtained from coal will ensure energy security in the coming decades, but it is coal in that period that will ensure Serbia’s path to a green transition, is the message of the experts from the conference “The role of coal in the implementation of the green transition in the power sector”, reports Tanjug.
The President of the Council of the Energy Agency, Dejan Popović, said that Serbia has an energy dependence on coal in the production of electricity, but that coal, as our basic energy source, has a key role in the green transition. “Our thermal sector cannot be saved by annual general overhauls, but it is necessary to build new blocks, such as “Kostolac B-3“, which is in the final stage of construction.
The old blocks are inefficient, and their utilization rate is below 32 percent. Due to the fact that the new blocks will have a higher degree of coal utilization, there will be less carbon dioxide emissions,” said Popović.
He assessed as incorrect the claims of his colleagues from Europe that the Balkans are the biggest source of pollution in Europe, due to the fact that the entire Balkans has less power in coal-fired thermoblocks than Germany, which largely uses the same coal that we use.
“For the security of our country, we have to use coal very carefully, since we have exploited the existing reserves with a low level of utilization, while the same amount of energy could be obtained with 30 percent less coal,” said Popović.
He emphasized that coal will remain the basic energy until 2050, whether in permanent operation or as a reserve.
Adviser to the Director of EPS, Vladimir Šiljkut, presented the green transition plan of Serbia, which foresees the shutdown of certain thermal power plants, TPP “Morava” and TPP “Kolubara A” by the end of 2024, Thermal Power Plant “Nikola Tesla” (TENT) A-1 and TENT A -2 until the end of 2027, TPP “Kostolac” A-1 and “Kostolac” A-2 until the end of 2028, while TENT B-1 will be gradually reduced until 2035.
“The total emission factor of EPS as a pollutant would drop from the current 0.8 to 0.51 t of carbon dioxide/megawatt-hour by 2035, which is a great result.” This reduction in emissions coincides well with the draft document that will allow our intentions on the green road to really come true,” said Šiljkut.
According to him, the green transition by 2035 will cost Serbia 8.5 billion euros, of which 2.2 billion would be spent on the reconstruction of existing systems, 5.8 billion on the creation of new replacement capacities, and 0.5 billion on environmental protection.
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