Strategic review and positioning of the national energy sector should provide the way out of the current crisis with lesser expenses not only with reference to the energy sector, but also to the state economy. – Energy security will certainly not be compromised by any means in the future
Public debate about the Draft of the Development Strategy for Serbian Energy Sector until the year 2025 with projections until the year 2030 was held on 27 September at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia in Belgrade. The Draft of the Energy Sector Development Strategy was presented by a professor of the Faculty of Mining and Geology, Dejan Ivezić, who is the head of the expert team in charge of the preparation of this document.
– The energy sector is the driving force and a key factor of economic changes and it represents the basis of the economic development of the country – Ivezić said. – Non-renewable energy resources in Serbia have not been researched to a sufficient extent, except for coal, аnd the data on them is not final. Geological reserves of primary energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas, oil shale) still represent a significant basis for the development of production and their use in the future. Renewable energy sources, except for large hydropower plants, are in the development phase.
Ivezić indicated that the strategic review and positioning of the national energy sector should provide the way out of the current crisis with lesser expenses not only with reference to the energy sector, but also to the state economy. This is also an opportunity to take a better starting point for a more dynamic and high quality economic growth аnd sustainable development in the future.
-The strategy should support a responsible, rational and sustainable use of energy. Thereby it should contribute to a more secure energy supply, an increase in the employment rate, competitiveness and environmental protection, as well as enable the implementation of the international obligations of Serbia within this field – Ivezić said.
– This is probably the most important document being prepared at the ministry. It has not been created as a result of the activities of only one ministry or one government, but this is a state document within the energy sector – Dejan Popović, State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection said. – The basic foundations of this strategy are energy security, development of the national and international market and sustainable energy development, based on renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. We have insisted that the strategy be realistic, because Serbia has had enough of wishful thinking strategies.
Popović emphasized that a major development within the energy sector was expected in the future. For the first time, the word development is a constituent part of the name of the Ministry of Energy, which indicates that the Serbian government expects the greatest progress within this field.
– The energy security of Serbia will certainly not be compromised in the future. This should be contributed by the projects, such as the new thermal power plant in Kostolac, the thermal power plant Štavalj, a series of projects within the field of hydropower, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency – Popović explained.
Dejan Trifunović, Deputy Minister of Energy, explained that the energy sector strategy was based on the available resources, through a projection of the population growth level, but also on the international obligations of Serbia, which are very strict.
– We have clearly opted for the compliance with the international obligations of our country within the energy sector – Trifunović pointed out. – A period of changes is before us and, regardless of their severity; they are long-living processes. We must have a secure supply and we must do everything in our power to improve the development of the electricity market. Energy sector is not a static field, things happen very dynamically and there are ever-increasing demands on the national and international level. Serbia must find its own position in order to have a sustainable energy sector and also to develop the domestic economy and to create the interest in investors to invest in our country.
Approved by the Serbian government
Experts, who have devoted more than one year to the formulation of the basic guidelines for the development of Serbian energy sector, have been engaged to prepare the document on energy sector development, аnd four public hearings have been held so far. The authors of the strategy have also been exchanging opinions with the representatives of energy companies continuously, which contributed that this Strategy draft has already passed through a kind of expert public debate. The Serbian government should adopt this document by the end of this year. After this, the Strategy Proposal shall be sent to the National Assembly to be adopted by its members.
Source; EPS Kwh
