Serbia received as much as two thirds of its electricity from non-renewable resources, that is coal. One of the main polluters of the environment is thermal power plants. In the Western Balkans, two and a half times higher emissions of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere were recorded than all other thermal power plants in the European Union.
Last year in Serbia was a turning point for renewable energy sources for several reasons, according to Milica Karajovic, master electrical engineer and project manager of the currently largest solar power plant in Serbia.
However, in recent years, industrial consumers have become aware that the amounts of money given for electricity bills can be redirected to the construction of solar power plants for their own consumption.
An increasing number are opting for this because the payback period is 5 to 7 years. The largest number of companies operating in the industry of processing various raw materials, and they are large consumers of electricity, decide for this move.
In April this year, the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources was adopted.
“Recently, the Decree on the so-called prosumer which enables the transfer of produced electricity to the network. This regulation stimulates citizens to annul their own consumption by handing over surplus production from their production systems to the distribution network. In addition, the state offers subsidies in the form of a return of 50% of the value of the investment in the case of installation of solar panels on the roof of households, which doubles the payback period. The procedures for registration and notification of such systems to the operator have been significantly simplified compared to the previous period,” says Karajovic.
Serbia’s energy transition will not only affect the improvement of the environment, but also the possibility of creating new jobs. There is a growing need to increase the number of professional staff in this field because there are not enough engineers and technical staff in Serbia to meet the demand on the labor market, Nova Ekonomija reports.
