Prishtina, 30.01.2018 – Year 2018 will be a green year, a year where renewable energy will have a special focus, in order to reach the defined targets by 2020, said the Minister of Economic Development , Valdrin Lluka, during a meeting with businesses, members of the Renewable Energy Association.

On this occasion, Minister Lluka said that in the development of these resources there are several challenges among which size of licenses and the financing of these projects through bank loans, which are still seen as risky.

Speaking about the current licensing of power generation from RES, Lluka announced that 120MW wind and 30MW solar capacities have been licensed, and an additional 50MW are expected through a public auction according to EU practices. He said that biomass resources are being reviewed, and expressed skepticism on the increase of hydro licenses due to limited resources and the adverse environmental impact.

Another measure that would help develop this sector, the Head of MED also mentioned the establishment of OSS (One Stop Shop), where investors would have one address where they would get all necessary licenses and permits without having the need to run back and forth in several institutions.

“The Law on Energy Efficiency has been drafted with the involvement of stakeholders and has the support of the European Commission. The law will come out in public consultation soon and within one month it will pass in the Government and then to the Parliament. Our goal is to have it approved by April”, he said.

In this line, Minister Lluka said that “Kosova e Re” indludes the condition to generate 10 percent of thermal energy. On the other hand, feasibility studies are underway for expanding the district heating network in Prishtina, Gjakova and then in Mitrovica.

The Kosovo Chamber of Commerce (KCC) President, Safet Gërxhaliu, said that there have been positive steps in the legal aspect, but their implementation by institutions still is lacking. He said he expects quick steps from institutions to resolve the problems that businesses face in this sector.

The Chairman of the Association for Renewable Energy, Bekim Shyti, considered the meeting of the RES sector businesses with the Minister as important, as they had the opportunity to present their problems and discuss the possibilities of their solution.