Prishtina, 31.10.2018 – Minister of Economic Development Valdrin Lluka attended a conference on energy transit, titled “Challenges and opportunities in Kosovo and the region”, organized by the “Balkans Green Foundation”. As a keynote speaker, Minister Lluka presented policies and decisions undertaken by the ministry, and informed the participants that, through European Union funds, large municipalities in Kosovo will have district heating 24 hours a day.

Minister Lluka told the participants, including the German Ambassador Christian Heldt and the representative of the EU Office in Kosovo, Ricardo Serri, that in the upcoming years, owing to EU funds, it will be made possible to provide large municipalities with constant district heating. In addition, Lluka underlined that Kosovo will accomplish the objective of having 25% of the energy consumed by 2020 generated from renewable resources, mostly focused on water, wind and solar energy technologies.

The Head of MED explained that the construction of “Kosova e Re” thermal power plant will have an extraordinary impact on the environment, in comparison to the current situation in the country.
“200MW of additional thermal energy for district heating in Prishtina region, over 40% efficiency in operation, 39% less lignite consumption in comparison to Kosova A, 25% less consumption than Kosova B, 10% less water consumption than Kosova B and 20 times less dust emissions comprises an enormous improvement,” Lluka said.

Minister Lluka said that the country is in expectation of the approval by the parliament of the Law on Energy Efficiency, which establishes the legal foundation for the operationalization of the energy efficiency fund – an important instrument for the application of protective and efficiency measures, which will benefit a large number of sectors, not limited to merely the energy sector but also other sectors such as construction, banking and industry.

Also, Lluka spoke on the integration of the Kosovo and Albania energy markets, and the expected establishment of the common energy exchange, as well as on works in the study on the ALKOGAP pipeline between Albania and Kosovo, which would be supplied through the TransAdriatic Pipeline infrastructure (TAP) and will be presented on 9 November.