The separation of hydroelectric power plants and thermal power plants in Serbia into separate companies would cause significant damage to the power industry and citizens, and that is why we should refrain from any transformation that would impair the functionality of the whole.
That is one of the conclusions of the scientific meeting “Hydroenergetics of the Southeast European Region”, held on Thursday and Friday at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade, reports Beta.
The President of the Committee for Energy, Slobodan Vukosavić, said that “all hydropower plants should be protected from direct or indirect sale or recapitalization, as this would call into question the ownership of hydropower plants by the citizens of Serbia”.
In the conclusions, the consequences of the construction of small derivation hydropower plants that work on the principle of borrowing a part of the river’s water to pass through the turbine, leaving a minimum of 10 to 30 percent of the flow, are stated.
The consequences are the initiation of erosion and landslides in hilly and mountainous areas, landslides and the spilling of machine oil and other harmful substances into water intakes, anaerobic processes and the appearance of coliform bacteria, the breaking of roads, and during construction, the felling of forests that prevents erosion.
“Small hydropower plants do not contribute to climate neutrality because they lead to the emission of marsh gas with a high methane content, a gas with a greenhouse effect, which is more pronounced than the consequences of carbon dioxide emissions”, the conclusions state.
Vukosavić stated that it was confirmed that there is a private interest of investors to make a profit, but there is no interest of the Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS), citizens and the state to continue the construction of derivation small hydropower plants because they produce a small amount of electricity and cause significant damage.
He pointed out that the construction of small hydroelectric plants should be suspended and the possibility to stop the operation of existing small hydroelectric plants and rehabilitate the area as soon as possible.
Engineers and experts involved in the planning and design of those hydroelectric power plants know, as he said, that there are safe approaches and technologies in the world that enable the construction of new facilities so that they do not endanger the environment. He pointed out that in Serbia “engineers overlook that the institutions of society are not functional, that the regulatory mechanisms do not work, that the laws on the environment are incomplete and are not applied”.
“In Serbia, buildings and systems are still being built that greatly endanger biodiversity, water and air, as well as people’s health. “The problem can be reduced by the collective thinking of engineers who design new buildings and ecologists who study the impact on the environment,” said Vukosavić.
He stated that reversible hydropower plants enable the integration of a larger share of energy from solar and wind power plants, which are mostly owned by private investors who generate large revenues, and EPS bears the costs of building RHPP, which is not in the interest of citizens.
Vukosavić said that there are possible locations for the construction of reversible hydroelectric power plants on the left side of the Drina, but a political agreement should be reached for the construction.
“The priority for the construction of a reversible hydroelectric power plant in Serbia should be given to the completion of Bistrica (on Uvac), and the construction of the HPP “Đerdap 3″ should be considered and postponed”, said Vukosavić, summarizing the conclusions of the scientific meeting.
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