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Climate: EBRD, Balkans to invest more on renewable energy

Study, coal still too much used in the region

04 December, 14:49
(ANSA) - BELGRADE, DECEMBER 4 - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has urged countries in the Western Balkans to reduce the production of energy from coal and to invest more in hydro power, renewable energy sources and gas.

In a new paper, 'How can the Western Balkans electricity mix be made sustainable?', the EBRD has noted that the current electrical capacity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia "is about 18,000 MW, almost evenly divided between hydropower and thermal power plants (TPPs), the latter being mostly coal-fired." Only Albania has no reliance on coal currently.

The amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere in the Balkans, adjusted for the size of the economy, is up to three times the EU average, the EBRD said in a statement, adding that all countries in the region "suffer from high levels of air pollution caused by its dependence on ageing coal-fired thermal power plants," usually lignite-fired, the most polluting form of coal. Seven of the most polluting power plants in Europe are located in the Western Balkans.

In the paper, the EBRD stressed that investing in new or modernising old coal-fired plants in the region will lead to a negative impact both for the environment and economically, as "cost of emitting each tonne of carbon is expected to rise as the EU tightens its emissions-trading scheme, making the continued use of high emission power sources uneconomical." Therefore, the EBRD advised countries in the region to focus more on sustainable hydropower. Currently, half of the installed electrical capacity in the Western Balkans is already generated by hydropower plants. Moreover, "at least for a transitional period, gas is a viable alternative," the Bank underlined, adding that "other renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass remain in their infancy in the region," but they already "represent an important low-cost alternative," for the Balkans.

(ANSA).

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