Serbia will have to increase its use of energy from renewable sources by a third through 2020, under a European Union-backed regional agreement.
The accord among members of the Vienna-based Energy Community, due to be signed on Oct. 18 in Montenegro, will require Serbia to improve the share from renewables to 27 percent from 21.2 percent now, said Deputy Energy Minister Dejan Trifunovic after an energy conference in Belgrade today. The improvement will be achieved mostly by adding new hydro plants and through enhanced energy efficiency, he said.
“There will be different targets for different countries, but for us, it’ll be 27 percent,” he said and added that Serbia lowered an original 32 percent target through negotiations.
The Balkan nation wants to become self-sufficient in electricity production by 2015 by adding some 2,000 megawatts of new capacity, including coal-fired plants, while attracting investments in new hydro plants, wind and solar parks. It also aspires to reduce reliance on oil and gas imports, which cost about 1.15 billion euros ($1.5 billion) over the first eight months.
Source Bloomberg
