Lawsuits and complaints pile up against planned Bosnia and Herzegovina coal power plants
October 17, 2016
Sarajevo-based environmental watchdog Ekotim has submitted on Friday (October 14) an official complaint to the Energy Community dispute settlement mechanism (1) due to lax pollution limits for a new Chinese-backed 450 MW unit at the Tuzla coal power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Guest post: China stokes global coal growth
September 27, 2016
China cuts coal at home but state owned companies and banks drive new coal expansion overseas, despite top level promises of green growth for developing countries, writes Beth Walker from China Dialogue.
First Balkans private power plant boosts coal dependence
September 20, 2016
* Chinese-built plant is first privately built in Western Balkans * Plant increases regional dependent on dirty coal * Chinese investment playing growing role in region’s power By Maja Zuvela STANARI, Bosnia, Sept 20 The Balkan region’s first privately-funded power plant came online on Tuesday, increasing the region’s dependency on coal-fired power stations even as environmental concerns are driving them to the brink of the extinction elsewhere in Europe.
Guest post: The last coal plant in the Western Balkans?
September 20, 2016
The Stanari lignite power plant in Bosnia officially starts operations today. If we are to have any hope of tackling climate change, it had better be the last one in the region.
Balkan energy projects with Chinese involvement – state of play
July 31, 2016
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania all plan new lignite power plants during the next few years. In contrast, most EU countries are giving up building new coal plants and seven EU states are already coal-free. Since the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank have virtually halted lending for new coal power plants, most of them are due to be financed by Chinese state banks – ExIm Bank and the China Development Bank.
In contrast to the EU, Western Balkans’ coal investments still heavily outweigh wind – but for how long?
May 27, 2016
Last year in the EU, 12.8 GW of wind power capacity was installed – more than any other electricity generation source. This means that wind can now generate 11.4% of the EU electricity consumption in a normal wind year, according to Wind Europe. At the same time Belgium and Scotland have shut down their last coal plants, signalling the golden days of coal are far behind them.
Western Balkan countries invest more than twice as much in coal as in wind power: new Bankwatch analysis
May 26, 2016
Western Balkan countries are planning investments in wind power, but these are being heavily outweighed by their investments in coal plants, according to a CEE Bankwatch Network analysis launched today. The region’s governments are actively planning 2800 MW of new coal plants but allowing only around 1166 MW of wind power plants to be built.
Balkan energy projects with Chinese involvement – state of play, May 2016
May 5, 2016
See a more recent version of this briefing >>
The hefty health toll of coal burning in the Western Balkans – and what is not being done about it
March 16, 2016
While the Energy Community yesterday failed to consider more stringent air pollution rules for the Western Balkans, a new report quantifies the health costs of the region’s coal burning both within the region itself as well as in the neighbouring European Union.
CSOs deliver over 16 000 signatures for a cleaner energy future in Tirana
October 16, 2015
Tirana, Albania – A group of CSOs from South East Europe (SEE) delivered over 16 000 petition signatures to Miguel Arias Cañete, EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action and Co-Chair of the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community today before its meeting in Tirana, Albania.
