Serbia announces tender for small hydropower developments
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- Wednesday, March 06, 2013
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Serbia's Ministry of Energy Development and Environment Protection (MEDEP) has issued an open tender participation invitation to interested parties for the purpose od development of small hydropower plants in Serbia. A total of 317 locations will be covered, with investments totalling an estimated EUR 120-200 million. This is the first time the country's government has publicly invited interested parties to participate in the development of renewable energy resources.
The preliminary process will last 45 days, during which interested investors and developers are encouraged to submit their applications to MEDEP. Pending the deadline for the preliminary process, MEDEP, local authorities and investors and developers will all sign memorandums of understanding for the development and construction of these projects. The development plan for the 317 locations predicts a total of 110 MW of new power generating capacity, but this only includes locations which have been determined as the most feasible. A far greater potential is available in several regions, for example Tutin, which has as many as 54 locations with SHP development potential.
According to studies, a total of 950 locations throughout Serbia show potential for SHP development, of which only 19 have been harnessed so far. If all the 317 locations in the tender process get the go ahead, as many as a 1000 new jobs could be created in the coming years. Additionally, this is the first step towards a more proactive approach towards renewable energy resource development in Serbia, as the government announced measures for stimulating this sector, through the reduction of number of necessary permits from 27 to only five, among other things. Other RE sectors are still in a nascent stage in Serbia, such as solar and wind, although a regulatory framework for these and other RE sources exists. Only biomass, the most abundant and feasible RE resource in Serbia has seen any significant progress in the past years.
[source: Serbia's Ministry of Energy Development and Environmental Protection]