Helping to Modernize Kosovo's Energy Sector
Today, Kosovo’s electricity operating capacity is about 900 MW, almost all of which comes from two antiquated coal-fired power plants, Kosovo A and Kosovo B. As the population grows, ongoing constraints on power will continue to increase. In order to meet the growing demand for energy, reduce power outages, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the Government of Kosovo is rehabilitating the Kosovo B power plant – which is more than 30 years old – to bring it into compliance with relevant European Union Directives, and to build a new, more efficient, lignite-fired power plant to replace the 45-year-old highly polluting Kosovo A power plant.
The gap left by the decommissioning of the Kosovo A plant and the growing demand for energy is expected to be filled by a combination of renewable energy sources and new lignite generation. The Government has requested financing support for these investments from the World Bank, with support to the new power plant being considered in the form of a Guarantee. The World Bank will make a decision whether to support the new Kosovo Power Project only when all relevant environmental, social, and technical analyses have been conducted, consultations have been held with the public, and the Bank’s Board and its shareholders have given the project due consideration.
Over the last decade, several studies of Kosovo’s energy situation have been conducted with donor assistance, including the World Bank Group’s Development and Evaluation of Power Supply Options for Kosovo, which draws upon several reports and models the projected use of the installed capacity of all power supply options by Kosovo – enabling comparisons and evaluation of their respective economic and environmental costs.
This “Options Study” is among several documents and analyses that were reviewed by a panel of independent experts engaged by the Bank to assess the Government’s proposed project against the Bank’s criteria for screening coal projects. This panel, made up of three distinguished energy experts, namely János Beér, Wladyslaw Mielczarski, and Derek Taylor, concluded that the proposed project meets the Bank’s criteria outlined in the Strategic Framework for Development and Climate Change. The findings of the Independent Expert Panel were discussed with civil society groups in Pristina in mid-February 2012. The “Options Study” is being updated and the update will also be made public once it is finalized.