Prime Minister Edi Rama attended Thursday the regional conference on Investment opportunities in renewable energy in the Western Balkans that took place in Belgrade, Serbia, an event hosted under the auspices of the Norwegian government to open a new path of interregional cooperation for the energy security between the Western Balkans and the Nordic countries and explore a coordinated and integrated regional response to the energy challenge, which is more important than ever.
The leaders of the Western Balkan countries, Norway’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Andreas B. Eriksen, as well as executives of leading energy companies attended the conference, focusing on the investment opportunities in renewable energy projects, including hydropower, solar power and wind power plants in the Western Balkans, in a bid to boost shared efforts to deliver on the green energy transition.
After the conference, the Western Balkan leaders and the Deputy Minister of Energy of Norway, Andreas B. Eriksen, appeared at a joint press conference:
President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic: As you already know, we have been working with the Norwegian authorities and have received recommendations on what we should do in Serbia in terms of the medium, short and long-term priorities and huge investments are needed in Serbia’s energy sector in the coming years. Depending on the choices we will make, investments in the energy sector will total 17 to 32 billion euros in the coming years if we really want to survive and ensure sufficient gas and electricity supplies and maintain our industry operational. And this will have an effect and this would be another reason, as Mr. Erikson also noted in this session, a reason for achievements, because this represents an opportunity – in addition to the problems we currently face – for us to develop a sustainable regional market and help one another.
If we work together to secure the future and most importantly, this issue is not only important for this winter, but for all winters to come. Today we discussed with the Norwegian investors, and I would like to thank Deputy Minister Eriksen, who has joined us today and I would also like to thank all those who have helped us. And when we talk about Serbia, we will have to carry out difficult reforms in our public enterprises and after launching the reforms in 2014, we will need to embark on even more difficult reforms in the energy sector in terms of the financial and fiscal sector, because we have to change our habits and work in quite a different way to ensure a better future for ourselves. And Dimitar also noted that no investment projects have been implemented in the energy sector in all our countries over the past 30 years. Only one gas pipeline was built and we will have the Kostolec pipeline, but it is not enough. Many thanks!
Deputy Minister of Energy of Norway, Andreas Eriksen: I am really enthusiastic to see the large number of renewable energy firms attending this event today to present their technology profiles, their knowhow, their importance, of course their advantages to participate in such discussions about how green energy could give a boost to the energy transition across the region.
The efforts we are already making will make the region more climate-friendly, more resilient and stronger. Through the Norwegian government assistance, we are honored to be here to share some of our expertise; we are honored to host companies that have cooperated closely with the Serbian government.
We know that the real work starts now, the hard work to deliver on these plans starts now and we are seeking to help in any possible way, be part and assist you in the important green energy transition.
What we largely discussed today is really a very important perspective, which means that we need to make the energy transition plan part of the regional initiatives, make sure that the cross-border cooperation strengthens so that more resilient, sustainable and affordable systems are created to resist the test of time and seeing the number of people currently involved in the initiatives launched by the Serbian government, I am confident this will be achieved too. So I look forward to welcoming the president to Norway in the next two weeks to continue fruitful discussions.
We wish you every success in the tremendous, but important task to develop your energy systems. We are impressed by the efforts dedicated to this conference and the efforts to cope with these challenges and turn them into opportunities in order to create better, stronger, more resilient systems in the future.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: This was an excellent opportunity and truly a necessary gathering at this time of war, when the bombs are hitting and inflicting wounds somewhere in Ukraine, but with the energy crisis, accompanied by the war-driven inflation, having hit hard all over Europe and a wider region, including our countries.
Undoubtedly, amid these tough times, what we have stated prior to launching the Open Balkan initiative, when we called for a wider regional cooperation, becomes increasingly obvious. We need to regionalize our markets and how it comes to energy, we need to move beyond our borders because otherwise, we still remain small markets. What we need, if handled in an isolated way, can turn out to be much more expensive and not only that.
I also believe that by acting at a regional level when it comes to the energy market, we would be able to gain more access to funding and this way we can build stronger partnerships with the private sector.
Today was really an important day and I am grateful to the Norwegian government and the Serbian government for initiating this dialogue practically with the best people and the best knowhow structures in Europe, the Norwegians.
I very much hope that this conversation will go on and our Norwegian partners and friends will stand by us and will support our efforts to devise a regional master-plan as an investment roadmap.
I would like to conclude by thanking the organizers again for this opportunity. I also look forward to this dialogue to deepen further.
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zoran Tegeltija: Thank you very much for your opening remarks also during the meeting. I noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a decentralized country and this is also quite obvious when it comes to energy as three electricity producing companies operate in our country.
A power transmission company is operational and, of course, thanks to the power production from these public utilities, Bosnia and Herzegovina currently generates more electricity than it needs to meet its domestic demand.
Around 60% of electricity in Bosnia and Herzegovina is generated by thermal power plants and taking the current ideas into consideration, we know that the EU’s green agenda has been adopted and consequently we need to change our position too and move forward in this direction.
We are pretty aware of the fact that we need to address such issues and that regional cooperation among our countries is needed to tackle them. We have launched a series of investments together with Serbia, a joint venture on constructing a hydropower plant. Preliminary agreements are already in place. The process has yet to start in Bosnia-Herzegovina because of a range of problems, however we welcome the message for joint investment and to all of those seeking to block the process, I would tell today that blocking the process is in nobody’s interest.
We will employ private sector investments in renewable energy projects. I’m actually someone who believes in public-private partnerships, because we need assurance. We need to adjust the electricity price and make sure that this electricity rate is affordable by the citizens of Bosnia.
The transition process will definitely take time, as well as money. This is the reason why we invite all investors attending this conference today, as well as other companies not present with us, and tell them that the Bosnian market is appropriate to build new renewable resources capacities.
Thank you very much!
Prime Minister of the Republic of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic: First of all, allow me to thank the President of the Republic of Serbia, the Prime Ministers of Albania, North Macedonia, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and also Mr. Eriksen for co-organizing this very important conference.
I think this topic couldn’t come at a better appropriate time. It is absolutely an issue focusing on the very essence, because it is a problem affecting not only the Western Balkans, but the whole of Europe that has been hit by an extraordinary energy crisis. The common conclusion we can draw is that the Western Balkan countries are extremely open to the experiences coming from the Nordic countries, and from Norway in particular, when it comes to building new power plants.
We largely focused on renewable energy sources, green energy generation and transition, which is very important for Montenegro, a country that will develop it as a green destination and a country with tourism being accounted for the largest contribution to the GDP.
Just like many other countries, but we in particular have strongly felt the imbalance between spring, summer and winter seasons when it comes to importing electricity.
Such a concept is unacceptable to us, given that most of the cities in Montenegro typically have over 250 sunny days a year. So the idea is that we build new power plants. The truth is that no major power plants have been actually built since the former Yugoslavia era. Several plants have been built, but not major ones. The idea is that we embark on active construction of power plants, especially solar power, wind power plants and liquefied natural gas facilities at Bar port that would be connected with gas-fired power plants.
These are some of our ambitions.
The Norwegians are now present in Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, but they are seeking to somehow alter this concept. We want to develop – as I said – much larger and major energy plants, so that we can mitigate these shocks we have encountered.
However, this was a very useful conference and I would like to thank everyone, underlining that our overall expectation is that we reduce energy dependency and move forward with construction of more renewable-energy power plants, because this is the goal of Montenegro and other countries in the region.
Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovačevski: Organizing an event like this is crucial for the entire region, especially at a time when lack of energy supplies caused by the war in Ukraine tops the agenda of all gatherings both in the region and in Europe and around the world.
Today, here in Belgrade, together with other Western Balkan leaders, we had the opportunity to engage in discussions with Norwegian investors who are interested in renewable energy generation projects, but also to present to them our strategic goals as well as the opportunities in the field of provision of electricity from alternative sources. This is an excellent opportunity to tap the potential of the green energy resources in the Western Balkan countries, but at the same time it is also an excellent opportunity for the entire region to develop as a new energy power.
In the past 30 years, this region has been subject to divisions and disputes. However, recently, especially in the past 2 years, the region has become a region of cooperation and a region of good neighborly relations. And indeed I would like to remind myself and every one of you that cooperation is the only way to overcome any crisis and to build a more resilient, stronger and affordable system in the region that would attract more investments and more public investments too.
Therefore, this is an opportunity to jointly use the global energy crisis to turn our countries into a green energy hub that will supply electricity not only to the region, but also to a wider region. Today’s opportunity to meet Norwegian investors is a rare one, because I would like to invite them to invest in North Macedonia and in other countries in the region. The government of the Republic of North Macedonia is investing in power plants through projects that benefit everyone. We are committed to the country’s energy transition as we are sure that this is the future. Of course, this also includes eco-friendly projects.
It should also be pointed out the fact that North Macedonia adopted a new Energy Development Strategy until 2040, which is completely based on the European Green Agreement, and we are already implementing this Strategy in our country.
And finally, a historic project has been planned in North Macedonia for a long time, the reversible power plant “Chebren” for which, after 13 unsuccessful tenders, there is a bidder for the first time this year, and if everything goes according to what is prescribed in the documentation and requirements, it will finally we have an investor who will finally be able to start the construction of this huge project. It will represent not only a benefit for the energy sector of North Macedonia for base and balancing energy, but also for the entire region, especially for the surrounding countries with which we have a high voltage network to connect.
A difficult winter is ahead for all of us, the entire region and the entire European continent. But I am convinced we will overcome this crisis through solidarity and cooperation.
The President of Serbia and I spoke about our efforts to use Serbia’s surplus gas supplies for a gas-fired plant in North Macedonia with an installed capacity of 205 megawatts. Electricity will be produced locally and will then be divided between North Macedonia and Serbia. This way, our industry will be supplied at a lower electricity price than what it receives from the regional exchanges, and Serbia will be able to compensate for its lack of electricity in the southern part of the country.
Thank you!
* * *
-Mr. Prime Minister, which is Albania’s potential for renewable and natural gas and which are the priority projects in the energy sector? And the question for the Norwegian representative; is Albania an attractive country to your investments and do you plan any concrete project?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: I wouldn’t like to go over details and provide descriptions about the projects we plan for the country’s energy sector. However, once again I would like to underline the incredible importance of the regionalization of the energy market as an indispensability to cooperate so that this market I structured under a clear master plan and a concrete roadmap, about which I again hope we will be provided the assistance of our Norwegian friends and partners, who are an excellent successful model for both, not only for what they have done domestically, but also how together with other Nordic countries have organized the regional energy market.
Deputy Minister of Energy of Norway, Andreas Eriksen: From the perspective of the Norwegian government, it is important to note that first of all we are here with our competence to build the systems and also to integrate the systems with the neighboring countries. So it is up to the Norwegian companies to decide about the investment opportunities they see, but as far as Albania is concerned, we have a Norwegian presence already as we speak and of course Albania will also be an interesting country for more Norwegian investment projects under the plans we are seeking to move forward in the region. We are looking forward to using this platform to further strengthen our cooperation, not only at the governmental level, but also between the businesses operating in this sector.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: If I may, I would like to say that Norwegian state-owned power company Statkraft is working on two new projects in Albania. One is the project on the floating solar power plant at the Devoll hydropower plant and the second project is about an innovative pumping system that would allow for the reuse of water for the power generation.
