The use of wind for electricity production began in the 1980s in America, and in Serbia this type of energy is still in development. It is estimated that this will increase significantly in the near future, as well as that the price of electricity from wind farms will be lower and lower. Professor of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, Dr. Nikola Rajakovic and president of the Energy Association for Euronews Serbia, says that the reason for Serbia’s relative lag in the construction of wind farms is that wind energy is not as developed as it should be and that the development started relatively late.
“Legislation was not introduced on time and incentives were introduced only in 2009, and we are certainly in a serious lag in relation to some countries in the region. We have about 500 megawatts installed somewhere in our wind farms. It should be far more, because production is from “In order to decarbonise the energy system, ie to get rid of coal, oil and gas, we must develop wind energy, solar, of course hydropower and energy based on biomass and geothermal energy,” said Rajakovic.
The professor notes that currently wind energy is represented by one percent of the total energy production in Serbia.
“However, we really have expectations, very realistic expectations that it will start to grow seriously and that by 2030 it will be of the double-digit percentage, to be 10.15 percent. Hydropower today participates in the overall energy mix with one third, two thirds “There is a very small percentage of RES of the modern type, ie wind farms and solar power plants. So, the current result is not excellent, but the one in the future is quite good,” says Professor Rajaković.
Which areas are suitable for wind farms?
Passing through the Banat plain in recent years, we meet more and more windmills, and one of the largest wind farms in Serbia is located near Kovacica.
“The facility consists of 38 wind generators with a total installed capacity of 104.5 MW. Approximately 68,000 households can be supplied annually from the Kovacica wind farm. It also has minimal impact on the environment,” said Veljko Ozegovic from the Kovacica wind farm.
Nine wind farms have been built in Serbia, and there are even more whose construction is still planned.
Nature protection expert Duska Dimovic says that the biggest advantages of wind farms are that it is a renewable energy source and that it actually reduces the emission of greenhouse gases, ie oil dioxide, and thus mitigates climate change.
The construction of the wind farm is preceded by environmental impact assessment studies. They say that Banat is an ideal area for something like this. First of all, it is not necessary to clear the forests, also what is very important is that the birds do not migrate through this area, but also the farmers got access roads to their land.
However, those who deal with nature protection note that it is necessary to do cumulative assessments, instead of for each project individually.
“What we can consider a problem is that they can pose a danger to birds, bats and various species of living world,” says Dimovic.
Since the Kovacica wind farm project turned out to be good, its expansion is planned, which would double the production of electricity in this power plant.
Wind production is now cheaper than two decades ago
When asked how economically viable wind energy is for producers, Elektroprivreda Srbije and citizens, Professor Nikola Rajaković said that the story is very complex and would require serious elaboration, but that in short KW watch is far cheaper today than KW watch from those same wind farms 20 years ago. years.
So the prices of production from wind power plants, technologies have become cheaper, economies of scale have started to work, a lot of power plants are being built all over the world. “That’s why it pays off for everyone in the long run. Not at the moment, but in the long run we consumers will have serious benefits from wind energy,” Rajakovic said.
He points out that the purpose of privileged producers is to encourage that technology, to start the development of that area. He points out that this has been done in Serbia since 2009. However, today, as the technologies in wind power plants and solar power plants have become seriously cheaper, that sense is being lost. He says that today the profession believes that we should strive for everyone to be equal, for electricity producers to be equal on the market.
It is also mentioned that it is necessary to change the Law on Renewable Energy Sources and harmonize it with the European one, and the professor reminds that the legislation was significantly improved last year. He adds that the dilemma of who is the balance responsible party remained controversial.
“Wind power plants, solar power plants, hydro power plants, do not produce constantly, and it is slow to think who will take over the burden of variable production. The power at the exit from these power plants is not constant. Depending on the intensity wind power you have variable power. It’s the same with the sun, you don’t have the sun at night. According to our law, the responsible party is EPS. As experience shows, European, world, that balance side should be the producer himself. We will seriously discuss these issues next week. We have a conference “Energy 2022” on Zlatibor, where these technical issues in this area are fully open on working panels, where we hope to reach serious professional conclusions, “said Professor Rajakovic, reports Euronews.
