Western Balkans electricity plans: where will all that power go?
March 23, 2015
Western Balkan countries have ambitious plans to increase their electricity generation over the next years. But what will happen if they all become a regional energy hub? Will there be a demand for all the available electricity?
Electricity export ambitions may prove risky for Western Balkans, shows new study
March 19, 2015
The Western Balkans countries have strong electricity export ambitions that create the danger of stranded assets, finds a new report launched by CEE Bankwatch Network today. If governments take electricity expansion decisions without taking due account of developments in other countries, the region will have to compete with other nearby exporters and may find that its power plants become uneconomic.
By the numbers: where will energy come from in the western Balkans?
March 19, 2015
Today we’ve published a new report analysing future energy trends in countries of the western Balkans. From a robust dataset we researched together with the University of Groningen and the consultancy ‘The Advisory House’, we’ve pulled out a couple of illustrations.
Stranded assets in the Western Balkans – report on the long-term economic viability of new export capacities
March 19, 2015
Country chapters available for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia. For other languages, see here. Analysing the estimated energy demand and production capacities in Western Balkan countries, this study shows that if countries realise their planned capacity expansions, the region will have a 56 per cent electricity surplus in 2024, led by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Nearly all governments in the region aspire to become electricity exporters, but the study argues that if governments fail to take into account the regional perspective, they could end up with power plants becoming simply uneconomic to operate.
Energy Community countries so rich they can afford to eschew climate action?
March 11, 2015
Planned new coal capacities will result in high additional costs for Energy Community countries. Transforming their energy sectors into efficient, sustainable renewables-based systems is not only possible but a cost-effective way forward.
NGOs demand transparency in negotiations over Plomin C coal project in Croatia
March 5, 2015
Croatian electricity company HEP on Monday announced that it had signed an exclusivity agreement to conduct further negotiations with Japan’s Marubeni – a company which has been implicated in several corruption scandals.
Guest post: Pljevlja shareholder A2A must resist pressure to build new lignite unit in Montenegro
February 11, 2015
Montenegro’s government is pushing hard for the construction of a new unit at the Pljevlja lignite-fired power plant. NGOs are encouraging the major shareholder company to not give in to this pressure, writes Jelena Marojević Galić from Green Home.
Guest post: Resettlement process for Kosovo Power Project does not comply with international standards
February 3, 2015
A report being presented today analyses the process with which 7000 are to be resettled for the Kosovo lignite mine and concludes that the World Bank-financed process does not comply with the bank’s own standards and is plagued by a slew of other weaknesses.
Croatians say no to coal in referendum
January 26, 2015
Zagreb – Inhabitants of the city of Ploče on the Croatian coast overwhelmingly rejected a plan to build an 800 MW coal plant in their town in a referendum taking place over the weekend. The vote raises questions about the acceptability of other coal projects planned in the country, including the controversial Plomin C.
[Campaign update] Kostolac B3 lignite plant loan agreement bypasses public debate and contains unacceptable conditions
January 16, 2015
The Serbian parliament will on Monday vote on the ratification of a USD 608 million loan agreement from the China ExIm Bank for the construction of the 350 MW Kostolac B3 lignite power plant by Chinese company CMEC. Serbia’s latest addition to its huge debt burden is being presented as a great success, but a new lignite plant is more likely to end up as a weight around our necks as we move towards the EU and apply EU climate policies.
