The Western Balkan countries are facing a process of transforming their public power utilities, with a challenging and complex transition period to renewable energy sources for those dependent on coal, said Damir Miljevic, an expert at the Center for Sustainable Energy Transition.
He reminded that the energy crisis began in September 2021 due to the growth in energy demand from the Chinese economy, especially for gas, as well as issues with wind electricity production in Europe, problems with nuclear power plants in France and reduced gas supply from Norway and Russia. The crisis deepened in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine.
The crisis disrupted transition plans and dynamics but it accelerated the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources worldwide. The EU has introduced the RePower EU program to expedite the transition to renewable energy and increase efforts to improve energy efficiency.
Unfortunately, in the Western Balkans the energy crisis has had significant consequences for the economy, population, and energy companies. It has slowed down the transition, although the countries in the region have not yet recognized the transition as a developmental opportunity to a sufficient extent. Instead, it is mostly treated as a threat and something imposed from outside.
Under the guise of supply security and energy independence, they are trying to delay inevitable changes and maintain the status quo.
He noted that the region, lagging behind its neighbors in the transition, is in danger of becoming an isolated island in the middle of Europe that no one wants to invest in because investors primarily want clean and green energy as input into their capacities.
Miljevic believes that green energy sources can completely replace traditional “dirty” sources. The overall economic potential of solar and wind is far greater than current and future needs. Renewable energy sources are superior not only in terms of their impact on the environment and climate but also from an economic perspective, as the marginal costs of energy production from these sources are negligible compared to fossil fuel production costs, and the prices of green technologies continue to decline.
