The new law on energy efficiency, whose adoption is expected soon, could make a “boom” in the application of solar panels, say the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, which should keep a register of energy service providers.
The PKS states that the use of solar panels will be possible wherever possible, and that a large number of small producers could make one virtual large generator of renewable energy sources.
“As a private person, as small consumers, you can build, for example, solar panels on your private installation or on a business facility and consume that energy for your needs,” said Miroslav Lutovac, advisor to the president of PKS for energy.
This, he notes, reduces the consumption taken over from the electricity supplier.
Lutovac adds that in periods when consumption is lower than production from renewable sources, surpluses can be placed in the energy system, since the new law on renewable energy sources, whose adoption is also expected soon, provides that at the same time someone can be both buyer and seller of electricity.
“If it starts in the way and with the support as planned, I expect significant investments in the coming period, not only systemically, but also from private individuals,” Lutovac said.
He explains that this will open a large space and reduce the overall pressure on Elektroprivreda, as one of the largest suppliers, but also on the entire system and contribute to stability.
Lutovac states that the formation of associations, ie cooperatives, will be allowed, which will enable small producers to organize in a certain way and to present their surpluses in energy from renewable sources, in an economic sense, in a better way.
“When you have small forces, you are not representative, you are not interesting for the market, but when you connect and unite your capacities, then it is a completely different story,” says Lutovac.
According to him, the Register of Energy Service Providers will be on a voluntary basis, it will register companies that provide energy services, and as such it will support all businessmen who would like to start improving energy efficiency.
“We will record all companies that deal with that activity, and in our regular contacts with businessmen, we will promote that idea,” Lutovac said.
He explained that businessmen will have a border to find companies in that register with data on what type of services they did, what the results are, what the satisfaction of their users is, and in that sense he expects that this will make their choice easier.
The new legal solutions envisage the introduction of a new incentive model for auctions, so that participants will compete by offering the best price at which they are ready to sell energy from renewable sources.
It is also planned to establish the Directorate for Financing and Encouraging Energy Efficiency as a body within the Ministry of Mining and Energy, instead of the previous Budget Fund for Improving Energy Efficiency.
This will enable the funds to be available to citizens, both for the procurement of energy efficient products and for improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings, since in the previous period, funds from the budget fund were allocated to local self-government units.
According to the SCC, this will encourage investments that will contribute to the reduction of energy consumption in all sectors, the reduction of the negative impact of the energy sector on the environment, ie climate change, and the improvement of citizens’ standards, Dnevnik reports.
