Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining Aleksandar Antic said that the Government has completed a technical study for the construction of 350 MW coal-fired thermal power plant Kolubara B.
Minister Antic stressed that the study justifies the construction of such facility because Serbian electricity consumption will increase in the future. In August, Serbian Government adopted the decision on the preparation of the spatial plan for the special purpose area for the construction of TPP Kolubara B. The deadline for the preparation of the Draft Spatial Plan is 12 months from the decision’s coming into effect, and the funds for the preparation will be provided by state-owned power utility EPS.
Last year, Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining Aleksandar Antic said that EPS will look into the possibility of re-launching the project for the construction of TPP Kolubara B. He said that the Government adopted the decision and that a working group that will coordinate the project for the construction of 350 MW power plant has been established, adding that the project would ensure the long-term stability of the Serbian energy system, especially given the large number of renewable energy power plants that will be built in the near future. In early 2019, he said that the construction of TPP Kolubara B should start in 2020.
The construction of TPP Kolubara B, located in the town of Veliki Crljeni, started in the early 1990s, but shortly after was abandoned due to the break-up of Yugoslavia. In June 2011, EPS signed a preliminary agreement with Italian Edison to set up a joint venture for the construction of the plant and in 2012 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressed interest in financing the project. However, in September 2013, the EBRD said it is no longer interested in financing the plant, due to its policy for limiting lending for coal-fired power plants construction projects and in 2014 the project was again abandoned.
