Prishtina, 21 Oct 2015 – “To us, the supply of energy to Kosovo citizens is just as important as diversification of sources, especially now that climate change is being discussed throughout the region, in Europe and globally,” said Minister Blerand Stavileci.

The head of MED made these comments during the inauguration of the first solar panel plant in village Gjurgjevik of Klina municipality, an investment of Slovenian company “Rudis”, which was also attended by representatives of said company, ERO, KEDS/KESCO, etc.

The head of MED said that the Government of Kosovo and ministry he heads has lately focused its attention to the utilization of energy sources other than conventional, such as coal, and placed emphasis on two energy sub-sectors – renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

Stavileci said that Kosovo has set its renewable energy indicative targets to be reached by 2020, which envisage that 25% of the overall energy generation will be covered by such sources, and the energy efficiency target, which foresees improvements at the rate of 9% by 2018.

He said that this first solar panel park in our country will serve as a model for other investors, whereas MED will continue to support such initiatives, by, among other, facilitating procedures.

Dejan Bash, Project Manager from “Rudis” explained that upon obtainment of necessary permits, the installation of this plant was completed in March 2015. “Installed capacities of the plant are 102kV, and the operation is going well. We expect to have better generation, but this also depends on weather conditions. We anticipate that the plant will be connected to the grid automatically when load-shedding is applied, with its capacities reaching 3 hours per day,” he said.

Bash said that a second phase of this project is being planned, and that it entails an expansion of capacities by 260 kV, emphasizing that preliminary authorizations for this phase are already obtained by ERO.

On the other hand, KEDS General Manager – George Karagutoff said that this first installation of solar panels in Kosovo comprises a foreign investment in this sphere, adding that it will contribute to the development of local resources and stimulation of other investments in the energy sector.

For his part, Enver Halimi, Chairman of the ERO Board, underlined the significance of this Slovenian investment in RES, adding that institutional stakeholders have cooperated closely in making this investment possible.