Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic said that “whoever wants to see Serbia as energy independent in 10, 20 and 30 years, will advocate for investments in green energy, and not to rely on resources it is not rich in, such as gas, or for complete dependence on coal”.
In an interview with Novi magazin, she pointed out that a special ministry should deal with this topic, and that the solution is not in stopping Serbia’s energy transition, but in cooperation and planning the development of the electricity system and investing in new energy capacities.
– The Law on the Use of RES has passed a wide public debate and in the drafting of it, along with the Ministry, participated those companies that are now seeking changes and postponement of the application of this regulation. It takes money to build any power plant, but for some it seems to be a problem only when money is invested in power plants that use RES. This is about capacities whose construction is planned for the next decade or two, and not about power plants that are waiting to be connected to the network tomorrow, in a month or a year. On the other hand, it seems that they have no fears about coal-fired power plants, which in Serbia will, in the foreseeable future, be burdened with carbon taxes, which would significantly raise the costs of EPS. On the other hand, the costs of energy production from renewable sources are decreasing – Mihajlović pointed out, it is stated in the announcement of the Ministry of Mining and Energy.
She said that the problem of balancing, which is presented as an insurmountable obstacle to the development of RES, is something that other countries face and that the solution is not in stopping the energy transition but in building new energy capacities, primarily reversible HPPs Bistrica and Djerdap 3.
– This area is so important for development that it is not enough to have one law in this area, but the new Government should have a special Ministry for Green Transformation and Energy Efficiency. I believe that a clean and healthy Serbia is what we should leave to future generations, as well as that giving up green energy is not the attitude of most people in Serbia. I think it would be very important and useful to reopen the conversation on this issue and see who is for, who is against green energy, as well as who is declaratively in favor, but by his actions or inactions he works against green energy – said Mihajlović, eKapija reports.
