The newly elected government of Serbia has announced that it “hopes to stimulate the country’s renewable energy sector by instituting public tenders for energy permits.”, so news of today.
A new rulebook will specify that permits for renewable energy projects/ sites, including geothermal, will be subject to a new tender system.
The “rulebook” will – similar to other countries – specify a time window in which an investor will have to finish a project or at least reach a defined level of completion.
The time level planned is currently two years, likely too short for geothermal projects. After that time a permit will be revoked. There is though hope that the definition of reaching a “defined level” of progress, will make it easier to deal with longer lead times for geothermal projects.
The plan is to issue all necessary permits with the tender in a one-stop process. Currently the process is rather complicated and requires project developers to obtain around 27 different permits from a variety of government agencies. The new model will simplify this extremely.
The new government seems to have a keen interest on seeing renewable energy development and investment thrive in Serbia. It also initiates an energy priority plan under which the country plans to invest between $5 to $7.5 billion for long term energy priority development, among the priorities geothermal and hydro are mentioned.
Source: UPI
