Kosovo May Lose EU Green Energy Grant

Radica Nusdorfer, manager of trade and economic issues at the EU Office in Pristina, said the EU cannot “forever” keep open funds allocated for the closure of the Kosovo A power plant.“The air pollution caused by this power plant cuts the lifespan of the Kosovo people by at least five years,” she said, warning Kosovo might lose the 60 million euro set aside for the closure of Kosovo A. Nusdorfer spoke at an international conference on sustainable options in the energy sector organized in Pristina by the Kosovo Civil Society Consortium for Sustainable Development, KOSID. International investors are showing growing interest in Kosovo’s energy sector - but some fear the focus by investors on lignite sources could end up worsening already high pollution levels. A recent World Bank study, however, noted that exploiting lignite in Kosovo, also known as "brown coal", is “the least expensive thermal option, even when the relatively higher environmental costs are priced in”. Kosovo plans to start working on a new power plant, the so-called Kosova e Re, in 2015. Approximately 98 per cent of the power generated within Kosovo comes from two lignite coal-fired power plants, Kosovo A and Kosovo B, which have a net operating capacity of between 840 and 900 MW. By contrast, Germany obtains less than a quarter of its energy from lignite. Kosovo’s Energy Strategy for 2009-2018 estimates domestic lignite reserves at a total of 12.5 billion tons, of which most, 10.9 billion tons, are exploitable. But the focus on investing in fossil fuel is causing alarm in some circles, owing to the country's high pollution levels. Although authorities in Pristina told the EU they would shut down the Kosovo A plant by 2018, Arben Gjukaj, head of the Kosovo Energy Cooperation, KEK, has since said that, “It will be difficult to make this happen”. Environmental issues are a key priority for Kosovo as it tries to harmonise its legislation and standards to those of the EU. Zenun Pajaziti, head of the parliamentary commission for economy, trade and industry, said Kosovo had already “harmonized its legislation with the EU and has reformed its energy system”. But Nusdorfer disissed this, saying that the EU “is concerned about the slow pace of implementing [existing laws]”, which are still not harmonized with European legislation.