A7-Studiu-Privind-Potentialul

EUROPEAN UNION Structural Funds GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA SERBIAN GOVERNMENT 2007 - 2013 POLITEHNICA UNIVERSITY TIMIȘOARA

Partnership for Promoting Green Energy in the Rural Area of the Romanian-Serbian Cross-border Region - GEROS

MIS ETC code: 1414 POLITEHNICA UNIVERSITY TIMIȘOARA Activity 7

Study on the potential of renewable ŽITIŠTE MUNICIPALITY energy sources in the RO-SR cross border region

“IOAN SLAVICI” FOUNDATION FOR CULTURE AND EDUCATION TIMIȘOARA

Content:

1. About Banat area...... 3 2. Current energy production situation in Romania and Serbia...... 6 2.1. Romanian energy sector ...... 6 2.2. Serbian energy sector ...... 7 3. Wind...... 11 3.1. Romanian wind energy sector ...... 11 3.2. Serbian wind energy sector...... 15 4. Solar...... 19 4.2. Romanian solar energy sector ...... 19 4.3. Serbian solar energy sector ...... 23 5. Geothermal...... 25 5.2. Romanian Banat geothermal...... 27 5.3. Serbian Banat geothermal...... 29 6. Biomass...... 31 6.2. Romanian Banat biomass...... 32 6.3. Serbian Banat biomass...... 33 7. Hydro energy...... 35 7.2. Romanian hydro energy...... 35 7.3. Serbian hydro energy ...... 37 Resources: ...... 38

1. About Banat area

The Banat no longer exists as a political entity, but it remains a general term of reference for a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of Timiș, Caraș-Severin, Arad south of the Mureș, the western part of Mehedinți), the western part in northeastern Serbia (mostly included in Vojvodina, except for a small part included in Belgrade Region), and a small northern part in southeastern Hungary (Csongrád county). The whole Banat is populated by Romanians, Serbs, Hungarians, Romani, Germans, Krashovani, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Czechs, Croats, Jews and other ethnicities. The Banat is geographically referred to as a part of the Pannonian Basin bordered by the River Danube to the south, the River Tisa to the west, the River Mureș to the north, and the Southern Carpathian Mountains to the east. Its historical capital was Timișoara, now in Timiș County in Romania. The first known inhabitants of present-day Banat were the various Thracian tribes - Agathyrsi, Getae, Dacians and Singi. In the 3rd century BC, Celtic tribes settled in this area. The region was part of Dacian kingdom under Burebista in the first century BC, but the balance of power in the area partially changed during the campaigns of Augustus. At the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. Trajan led two wars against the Dacians: the campaigns of 101-102, and 105-106. Eventually, the territory of Banat fell under Roman rule. It became an important link between Dacia province and the other parts of the Empire. Roman rule had a significant impact: castra and guard stations were established and roads and public buildings built. The public bath establishments of Ad Aquas Herculis, modern-day Băile Herculane were also established. In 273 A.D. Emperor Aurelian withdrew the Roman Army from Dacia. The area fell into the hands of the Sarmatians and later the Goths, who also took control of other parts of Dacia. The Goths were forced out by the Huns, who organized their ruling center in the Pannonian Basin (the Pannonian Plain), in area that included the northwestern part of today's Banat. After the death of Attila, the Hunnic Empire disintegrated in days, and the previously subjected Gepids formed a new kingdom in the area, only to be defeated 100 years later by the Avars. One governing center of the Avars was formed in the region, which played an important role in the Avar–Byzantine wars. Banat was administered by the Kingdom of Hungary from the 10th century up until 1552, when the region of Temesvár was taken by the Ottoman Empire. The Banat was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1552, and became an Ottoman eyalet (province) named the Eyalet of Temeşvar. The Banat region was mainly populated by Rascians (Serbs) in the west and Vlachs (Romanians) in the east. In the 17th century, northern parts of the Eyalet of Temeşvar were incorporated into the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, but Banat itself remained under Ottoman administration. In 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy took the Banat region from the Ottomans. It received the title of the Banat of Temeswar after the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), and remained a separate province in the Habsburg Monarchy under military administration until 1751, when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria introduced a civil administration. The Banat of Temeswar province was abolished in 1778. After the Revolution of 1848–1849, the Banat

(together with Syrmia and Bačka) was designated as a separate Austrian crownland known as the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar. In 1860 this province was abolished and most of its territory was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary.

Fig.1. Location of Banat (dark green) in Europe (territorially-involved countries light green) Source: Wikipedia

In 1918, the Banat Republic was proclaimed in Timișoara in October, and the government of Hungary recognized its independence. However, it was short-lived. After just two weeks, Serbian troops invaded the region, and that was the end of the Banat Republic. From November 1918 to March 1919, western and central parts of Banat were governed by Serbian administration from Novi Sad, as part of the Banat, Bačka and Baranja province of the Kingdom of Serbia and newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which was later renamed to Yugoslavia). In the wake of the Declaration of Union of Transylvania with Romania on December 1, 1918 and the Declaration of Unification of Banat, Bačka and Baranja with Serbia on November 25, 1918, most of the Banat was (in 1919) divided between Romania (Krassó- Szörény completely, two-thirds of Temes, and a small part of Torontál) and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (most of Torontál, and one-third of Temes). A small area near Szeged was assigned to newly independent Hungary. These borders were confirmed by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and the 1920 Treaty of Trianon. At the dissolution of Austria- Hungary, the delegates of the Romanian and some German communities voted for union with Romania, the delegates of the Serbian, Bunjevac and other Slavic and non-Slavic communities (including some Germans) voted for union with Serbia, while the Hungarian

Fig.2. Map of the modern Banat area

The Banat region spreads over the 30000 km2 and it is divided among three countries: Romania, Serbia and Hungary. The Serbian part of Banat region is placed in the north- eastern part of the Republic and, with the area of 8997 km2 presents about 12 % of the total area of the Republic of Serbia. It is the largest of the three administrative districts that the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina consists of. The Serbian part of Banat is divided into three administrative districts: North, Central and South Banat, with seventeen municipalities and two communities with the status of a town, Pančevo and Zrenjanin. The Serbian part of Banat region is a plain with Deliblatska pescara and Vršac mountains (elevation 641m) in the south, bordered with the natural waterways, Danube and Tisa, to the south and west respectively. The most important economic branch is the agriculture, still the industrial facilities are rather present. These facilities are oriented mostly to the food industry, ceramic manufacturing industry and the oil and gas production and processing industry. There are several protected areas in Banat: four Special Nature Reserves (Deliblatska pescara, Slano Kopovo, Pasnjaci Velike Droplje,

Carska bara), one Area of Exceptional Natural Values (Vrsacke mountains) and a few natural parks (Ponjavica, Rusanda, Beljanska bara) and more than twenty natural monuments. The Romanian part of Banat, with 18966 km2 is divided between four counties: Timiş, Caraş-Severin, Mehedinţi (only small area in South-West) and Arad (only small area south of Mureş River). The main cities are: Timişoara, Caransebeş, Lugoj, Reşiţa and Orşova. The Romanian Banat region is mainly formed by plain (Timiş County) and wild mountains and forests (Caraş County). There are numerous and important natural reservations in the area, most of them in Caraş county, such as: Buhui cave, Beuşniţa waterfall, Viroaga waterfall, Cheile Nerei national park, Cheile Caraşului national park, Iron gates nation park, Ochiul Beiului lake, a.o. Disclaimer: This sub-chapter is based on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banat article.

2. Current energy production situation in Romania and Serbia.

2.1. Romanian energy sector Energy in Romania describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Romania. Romania has significant oil and gas reserves, substantial coal deposits and it has substantial hydroelectric power installed. However, Romania imports oil and gas from Russia and other countries. To ease this dependency Romania seeks to use nuclear power as an alternative to electricity generation. So far, the country has two nuclear reactors, located at Cernavodă, accounting for about 18-20% of the country's electricity production, with the second one online in 2007. Nuclear waste is stored on site at reprocessing facilities. [2] Electric power in Romania is dominated by government enterprises, although privately operated coal mines and oil refineries also existed. Accordingly, Romania placed an increasingly heavy emphasis on developing nuclear power generation. Electric power was provided by the Romanian Electric Power Corporation (CONEL). Energy used in electric power generation consisted primarily of nuclear, coal, oil, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Of the electricity generated in 2010, 13.1 percent came from nuclear plants then in operation, 41.69 percent from thermal plants (oil and coal), and 25.8 percent from hydroelectric sites. [3] Table 1. Energy in Romania [4] Capita Prim. energy Production Import Electricity CO2-emission Million TWh TWh TWh TWh Mt 2004 21.69 448 327 133 49.2 91.5 2007 21.55 453 320 141 52.8 91.9 2008 21.51 458 335 124 53.5 89.9 2009 21.48 400 329 77 48.7 78.4 2012 21.39 417 321 89 53.2 81.8 2012R 0.08 406 316 92 52.2 79.0 2013 19.98 370 301 69 49.9 68.8 Change 2004-09 -1.0% -10.8% 0.7% -42.0% -1.1% -14.4% Mtoe = 11.63 TWh . Prim. energy includes energy losses that are 2/3 for nuclear power 2012R = CO2 calculation criteria changed, numbers updated

According to the data displayed by Electrica Furnizare SA in July 2014 (source www.electricafurnizare.ro), the structure of electricity production of Romania in 2013 was provided by: 1. Non-renewable energy sources: 62.42%, as follows 27.25% - coal 19.61% - nuclear 14.35% - natural gas 0.08% - naphtha 1.13% - other conventional sources

2. Renewable energy sources: 37.58%, as follows 27.36% - hydro-energy 8.94% - wind power 0.37% - biomass 0.85% - solar energy 0.05% - other renewable sources

2.2. Serbian energy sector The electricity market in Serbia is dominated by the national power utility EPS (Elektroprivreda Srbije – Power Industry of Serbia), which owns all large generation capacities and supplies all the consumers in the residential and commercial sectors, and most eligible consumers - these are industrial facilities with high electricity consumption which have the freedom of choosing their supplier because they are directly connected to the transmission system. [8]

Fig.3. Electricity production in Serbia (IEE data for 2012) [8]

Serbia has a large amount of coal reserves, with 4 billion tonnes of proven lignite deposits. The reserves are located in two main coal basins, Kolubara and Kostolac. The coal mines in Serbia are owned and managed by subsidiaries of EPS (Elektroprivreda Srbije – Power Industry of Serbia). The Kolubara Mining Basin provides around 75 per cent of the lignite used for EPS' thermal generation. It produces over 30 million tonnes of lignite annually,

Fig.4. Kolubara B lignite-fired power plant, Serbia

Energy is one of the largest sectors of the Serbian economy, accounting to some 10% of the Serbian GDP. The Serbian energy sector consists of oil and natural gas industry, coal mines, an electric power system, a decentralized municipal district heating system and industrial energy. Activities in the energy sector include the production of domestic primary energy, the importation of primary energy (mostly oil and natural gas), the production of electric power and thermal energy, the production and the secondary processing of coal and the transport and distribution of energy and energy products to energy consumers. [9] The Serbian production of electric power includes power plants with a total power of 7,120 MW, including 8 lignite-operated thermal power plants (“TPPs”) with an installed power of 3,936 MW (two of these are located in Kosovo), 9 hydro power plants (“HPPs”) with a total installed power of 2,831 MW. In addition to this there are mazute and natural gas operated thermal power plants operated by district heating companies with an installed power of 353 MW. Almost the entire production of electricity is concentrated in the Public Enterprise Elektroprivreda Srbije” (“EPS”), which is currently the only producer of electricity in Serbia. [9] The Serbian power transmission system is consists of 9,500 km of power lines of 400, 220 and 110 kV and accompanying transformer stations, and is interconnected with all the neighbouring countries. The entire Serbian transmission system is operated by the Public Enterprise “Elektromreža Srbije” (“EMS”). The distribution network consists of the low- voltage network that is located in all major consumer centres and is operated by EPS through its fully-owned subsidiaries for five regional centres including Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Kraljevo and Niš. The consumption of electricity in Serbia is very high. According to the Energy Balance for 2009, the estimated consumption of electricity in Serbia for 2009 was to be 28,854 GWh. The high consumption of electricity is due to the

Fig.5. Structure of RES in the Republic of Serbia In the previous period, the use of RES was based on the electricity generation from large river courses and the use of biomass mostly for household heating and to a lesser part in industry. [7] According to the data from the energy balance for 2009 (2009 is the year defined by the EnC Secretariat as the base year in the methodology for calculation of the binding share of RES in the GFEC of Serbia in 2020), the share of electricity from hydro potential in the GFEC amounted to 9.6 % (28.7 % in the electricity sector), while the share of heat from biomass in GFEC amounted to 11.5 % (27.5 % in heating and cooling sector). In the period from 2009 the interest in the use of RES has been constantly growing, but the number of newly built structures is relatively small (about 40 energy entities with the privileged electricity producer status). An increased interest for the construction of facilities using RES started with the enactment of the following regulations [7]:  Energy Law ("Official Gazette of the RoS", No. 57/11 and 80/11)  Decree on amendments and supplements of the Decree on Establishing the Energy Sector Development Strategy Implementation Programme of the Republic of Serbia until 2015 for the period of 2007 to 2012 - RES ("Official Gazette of the RoS", No. 99/09);

 Decree on Requirements for Obtaning the Privileged Electricity Producer Status ("Official Gazette of the RoS", No. 72/09) and  Decree on incentive measures for the Production of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources and Combined Heat and Power Production ("Official Gazette of the RoS", No. 99/09). Serbia has a promising potential for renewable energy, including a largely untapped hydro potential, mainly for medium-sized and small HPPs, of about 4.6 GW, as well as 2.3 TWh/y for wind, 50 MW for geothermal and 33 MW for solar energy. Biomass from wood and agricultural waste has arguably the highest potential in Serbia among all renewable sources, as long as it is locally and sustainably sourced and used efficiently. [8] Serbia has a significant potential for energy efficiency. Inefficient use of energy represents a major concern in the country. Consumption of primary energy per every unit of GDP is significantly higher than that in the EU (13 times higher than in Germany, 10 times higher than in France, five times that in Slovenia and almost twice that of Romania). [8] To achieve its targets in the electric power sector, the Republic of Serbia plans to install additional 1092 MW until 2020 (Table 2): Table 2: Production of electricity in Serbia from RES from new plants in 2020 [7] Type of RES (MW) Assumed number of (GWh) (ktoe Share working hours (h) ) (%) HPP - hydropower plant (over 10 MW) 250 4430 1108 95 30.3 SHPP -small hydropower plant (up to 10 MW) 188 3150 592 51 16.2 Wind energy 500 2000 1000 86 27.4 Solar energy 10 1300 13 1 0.4 Biomass – CHP plants 100 6400 640 55 17.5 Biogas (manure ) – CHP plants 30 7500 225 19 6.2 Geothermal energy 1 7000 7 1 0.2 Waste 3 6000 18 2 0.5 Landfill gas 10 5000 50 4 1.4 TOTAL planned capacity 1092 - 3653 314 100.0

To achieve its targets in the sector of heating and cooling, besides the use of biomass for heating in individual households, until 2020 the Republic of Serbia will also use RES which have not been used so far. It is planned that the target in this sector is achieved with additional 149 ktoe, as shown in the Table 3.

Table 3: Energy production in the heating and cooling sector from the new facilities that use RES Type of RES (ktoe) Share in additionally planned production of heat until 2020 (with respect to the base 2009 year) Biomass – CHP plants 49 33% Biomass (DHS) 25 16% Biogas (manure ) – CHP plants 10 7 % Geothermal energy 10 7 % Solar energy 5 3% Biomass in individual households 50 34 %

3. Wind

3.1. Romanian wind energy sector

Wind power in Romania reached in 2014 an installed capacity of 2954 MW, and a total of 2976 MW at the end of 2015, up from the 14 MW installed capacity in 2009. Romania has the highest wind potential in South Eastern Europe of 14000 MW; in 2009 investors already had connection requests of 12000 MW and the national electricity transport company Transelectrica offered permits for 2200 MW. A study of Erste Bank places Romania and especially the Dobrogea Region with Constanţa and Tulcea counties as the second best place in Europe (after Scotland) to construct wind farms due to its large wind potential. Another study made by the Romanian Energy Institute (REI) said that wind farms could contribute with 13 GW to the national power generation capacity by 2020, and between 2009 and 2017 total wind farm capacity will comprise 4000 MW with investments of more then €4 billion. [5] Wind power in Romania[5] Year MW Currently, in Romanian Banat area there are several wind 2008 3 farms installed: 1. In Oravita city, installed by the local authority with an 2009 14 installed capacity of 10 MW 2010 462 2. In Moldova Noua area, installed in 2012 by Enel Green 2011 982 Power with an installed capacity of 48 MW 2012 1,905 3. In Orsova area, installed in 2014 by Toplet Energy with an installed capacity of 35 MW 2013 2,599 The incredibly dynamic growth in installed wind farm 2014 2,954 capacity is allowing Romania to make progress and getting 2015 2,976 ahead of a number of European countries. The favorable environmental conditions, growing number of permits being issued and significant number of projects already underway ensure this market will continue to develop at a fast pace during the coming years. [15] Based on the information provided by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), China was the world’s largest market for wind power in 2010, adding a staggering 18.9 GW of new capacity and edging past the US to become top country in terms of wind power worldwide. The world’s top countries in wind power production include China, United States and Germany. In figure 6 the 2015 status of wind energy production worldwide, according to Global Wind Energy Council is presented.

Fig.6. Worldwide wind energy capacities [16] The importance of the wind energy is easily visible from figure 7, where one can notice that in the past 15 years the wind farm capacities worldwide increased 10 times.

Fig.7. Worldwide wind energy evolution [16] Fortunately, due to European and national policy makers, Romania is today the 12 in Europe with its wind energy installed capacities (about 2976 MW) in front of contries like Ireland, Austria or Belgium. [16] Wind energy has taken the lead among alternative energy sources in Romania. According to the Energy Regulatory Authority, the total capacity of wind farms in use amounted to 469 MW at the end of May 2011 and reaching 3009 MW in April 2016. Romania’s operational wind farms are mainly located in Dobrogea, on the Black Sea coast, where average wind speeds can reach 7 m/s at an altitude of 100 m. The region is flat and sparsely populated, which makes it possible to install a large number of wind turbines. There are also two other regions with a high wind power potential in Romania, namely: Moldova and Banat (Caraş Severin county). [15] To help the development of its renewable energy sector, in 2005 Romania implemented a support scheme for renewable energy that entails a quota obligation combined with trading of green certificates (“GCs”). As opposed to the widespread feed-in tariff system, the GCs support scheme is relatively new and is currently used in several EU countries, including Belgium, the UK, Poland, Sweden, Italy (where feed-in-tariffs are applicable for photovoltaic energy) and Romania. The initial system was further developed in 2008, when Act No. 220/2008 on the promotion system for energy generation from renewable energy (“Act No. 220/2008”) was published, and in 2010 when major amendments were made. The GCs system benefits energy producers that use renewable energy sources. Wind energy is considered a renewable energy source. Renewable energy producers that use wind power shall receive (on the basis of Act No. 220/2008) two GCs until 2017 and one GC, starting with 2018, for each MW fed into the grid. The GCs system shall apply to each beneficiary for a period of 15 years (provided that the equipment used is new) starting from the moment the generation unit becomes operational and produces electricity. [15] GCs can be traded solely on the Romanian market, until the national targets set forth by Act No. 220/2008 are reached. From a practical perspective, however, even if these national targets are reached, international trading is not possible due to the lack of a trading platform that would allow trading GCs with other EU countries. A certain harmonization between the EU countries that have implemented the GCs system would be required in order to allow international GCs trading. Directive 2009/28 stipulates that

Member States may voluntarily decide to join or partially coordinate their national support schemes. [15]

Fig.8. Map of the wind energy potential in Romania (https://resbroker.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/windmap-harta-big.jpg) For example, in 2013 ANRE reported an overall electricity consumption in Romania of about 49.69 TWh in 2013, as compared with 52.36 TWh in 2012. On the background of the overall decrease of the electricity consumption, one could also notice an important shift that is taking place in the Romanian electricity sector in terms of market shares of various technologies. While the input of electricity from renewable energy sources increased from 3.5% in 2012 to 7.1% in 2013 (over 100% increase), the percentage of electricity from solid fuels shrank by more than 10 p.p. of the overall national electricity output, which overall is a 25% year on year decrease. [14] According to ANRE, Romania has a potential produce as much as 14,000 MW of wind energy and may develop into a sustainable market. In an interview, Dana Duică, former president of ANRE, declared: “We hope that the Romanian market, which has the greatest potential on short- to medium-term in the region, becomes a mature market with an important production capacity in renewable energy and a good electric infrastructure. Honestly, right now, we are far away from this achievement, but the Romanian Wind Energy Association is trusting the good intentions of the authorities for supporting a good and a sustainable energy market with huge potential.” From figure 10, a study of Romanian Wind Energy Association, one can notice that the main increase in national renewable energy potential is given by wind energy.

Fig.8. View of the Fanatanele-Cogealac wind farm, 2011 (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/F%C3%A2nt%C3%A2nele-Cogealac_Wind_Farm_2011.jpg)

Fig.9. Electricity shift in Romania, 2012-2013 [14]

3.2. Serbian wind energy sector

Serbia has become a wind producer with the official start to operations in November 2015 of the 9.9MW Kula wind farm in the province of Vojvodina, in the north of the country. A second wind farm is under construction in Serbia, the 6.6MW La Piccolina project in Vrsac, also located in Vojvodina province – and expects to commission this in 2016.

A research conducted by Serbian scientists showed that around 1.9 MTOE a year (around 5% of the whole renewable resources potential) is found in the energy of wind which is based on the long-term data of the existent hydro-meteorological stations which carry out the measuring on 10 m altitude and it is also based on the new data of the measuring which were carried out on 100 m altitude. [20]

Fig.10. Wind energy estimates in Romania [15]

The potential of renewable energy resources in Serbia, including wind energy, is very significant and exceeds 3.8 Mtoe. Today, renewable sources make 7% of total energy sources, with 32% of electric energy being produced in hydro power plants. Strategy of Energy sector development until 2015 has made strengthening alternative energy sources a priority issue. Regarding the legal framework, Law on Energy is regulating energy sector and alternative energy sources, and is the only regulation in this area. It defines privileged status for producers of alternative energy resources which have priority for subsidizes, tax, customs and other incentives according to the law and according to other customs and tax regulations. [13] It is estimated that there is a technologically justified wind potential of around 0.2 million tons of oil equivalent in Serbia, which could replace 10% of total electric energy consumption. However this potential is still to be exploited, as this energy sector is under development. With current technology levels in Serbia total capacities of wind generators, which could be implemented in electro-energy system in Serbia, is about 1300MW of installed power, which is approximately 15% of total energy capacity of Serbia. These capacities could potentially produce about 2.3 TWh of electric energy annually. Areas of major wind power potential in Serbia, identified by the survey, are Jastrebac, Stara planina, Kopaonik, Juhor, Suva planina, Tupiznica, Krepoljina, Ozren, Vlasina, as well as territory of city of Vrsac. Especially interesting for foreign investors is Vojvodina with almost two thirds of it has wind speed that exceeds 4 m/s, and the needed constant level of 5 m/s could be found in several locations: Vrsac - as leading with 6.27 m/s, Bela Crkva,

Irig, Kikinda, Sombor, Novi Sad and Sremska Mitrovica. State organized projects in this area were never initiated, as this sector is left for private investors.

Fig.11. Vestas V117 3.3MW turbine was used at the first Serbian wind project [11]

Fig.12 Wind energy potential in Serbia – January and July months [12]

Opening of several small companies producing equipment for windmills that has never been plugged into energy network followed this. Interest of foreign investors is risen just recently when the first windmill farm started being built in Indija (11 windmills, total

Investing in your future! Romania-Republic of Serbia IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme is financed by the European Union under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) and co-financed by the partner states in the programme. For more information, please access www.romania-serbia.net EUROPEAN UNION Structural Funds GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA SERBIAN GOVERNMENT 2007 - 2013 POLITEHNICA UNIVERSITY TIMIȘOARA power of 25 MW worth 30 million EUR). This project is being performed in close cooperation with Indija Municipality and Austrian investor. [13] Regions in Serbia with locations potentially suitable for the construction of wind generators [13]:  Eastern parts of Serbia - Stara Planina, Ozren, Vlasina, Rtanj, Deli Jovan, Crni Vrh, etc. There are locations in these regions with average wind velocity vav > 6m/s, which corresponds to the power of Pav = (300-400) W/m2. This area covers about 2000 km2 and in the future about 2000 MW of installed wind generator power might be built here;  Pester, Zlatibor, Zabljak, Bjelasica, Kopaonik and Divcibare are mountain regions which abound in winds, where measurements may be taken and appropriate suitable micro locations found (at altitudes over 800 m) for the construction of wind generators;  Pannonian Plain, north of Danube, i.e. wider region of the territory where kosava wind blows also abounds in winds. This area covers about 2000 km2 and is suitable for the construction of wind generators because the basic infrastructure already exists, from roads to electricity grid, and also because of the vicinity of big centers of electric energy consumption, and the like. In future, it would be possible to install there about (1500-2000) MW of wind generator capacities. The north-eastern part of Serbia is a region of special interest for perspective wind-plant construction, with wind energy more available in lower areas than in higher ones. This phenomenon can be explained with a fact that the present winds are usually katabatic and have higher speed in descending. Thus, the north-eastern parts of Serbia (Vojvodina) represent a region of special interest with characteristic wind energy potential. What is particularly interesting is the micro region of south and south-eastern Banat where the wind of dominant direction also has dominant speed, especially during the colder period of the year. The Vojvodina region is characterized by a strong southeast wind. This wind, whose descending component is stronger than the ascending, occurs simultaneously and is called ”koshava“. This local wind usually blows during the colder period of the year. The warmer period of the year is dominated by the winds from western quadrants. [21] Deliblato Sands in the micro region of southern Banat represents a good example of area characterized by a relatively effective wind potential, with the prevailing class 3 and class 4 winds. The wind potential is greater on the periphery of the Deliblato Sands and includes several micro locations in which a main annual wind velocity, measured at 50 m, is above 6 m/s, while the main wind power density in these locations is about 300 W/m². This area is characterized by a strong southeast wind with maximum occurrence in autumn, winter and spring, while the summer winds are predominantly in west direction and considerably lower in intensity. Thus, these annual facts favor the construction of the wind power plants in this area. Also, sites near villages of Bavanište, Dolovo, Izbište, Parta and Grebenac along with sites in Alibunar and Bela Crkva municipalities are also very suitable for installation of the wind turbines. [21]

Fig.13 Wind speeds in Vojvodina [21]

From 2009, when the legal framework with incentive measures (“feed-in” tariffs) was established for the first time in the Republic of Serbia, until December 2014, 1 wind power plant with the capacity of 0.5МW was constructed, while 5 wind power plants with the total capacity of 45МW have gained the temporary privileged producer status. [31]

4. Solar

4.2. Romanian solar energy sector

Solar power in Romania had an installed capacity of 1151 megawatt (MW) as of the end of 2013 – a more than 20 fold increase from 2012. The country had in 2007 an installed capacity of 0.30 MW, which increased to 3.5 MW by the end of 2011 and to 6.5 MW by the end of 2012. However, the record year of 2013 was an exception, and new installation fell back from 1100 MW to a moderate level of 69 MW in 2014.

Romania is located in an area with a good solar potential of 210 sunny days per year and with an annual solar energy flux between 1000 kWh/m2/year and 1300 kWh/m2/year. From this total amount around 600 to 800 kWh/m2/year is technically feasible. The most important solar regions of Romania are the Black Sea coast, Dobrogea and Oltenia with an average of 1600 kWh/m2/year. Romania was a major player in the solar power industry, installing in the 1970s and 1980s around 800000 square meters of low quality solar collectors that placed the country third worldwide in the total surface area of PV cells. One of the most important solar projects was the installation of a 30 kW solar panel on the roof of the Politehnica University of Bucharest that is capable of producing 60 MWh of electricity per year. Many photovoltaic projects are planned for Romania, totaling over 200 MW, and of these, about 61 MW were expected to be completed within 2012. The first two industrial scale solar power plants in the country are the Singureni Solar Park completed in December 2010 and the Scornicesti Photovoltaic Park, completed 27 December 2011. Each is 1 MW.

Fig. 14. Solar insolation in Romania

The Covaci Solar Park will be Romania's largest solar power plant at completion having a total of 480000 solar panels with a combined capacity of 35 megawatts, and will be located

The sunshine duration is the interval with shinning sun during a day and is expressed as hours and tens of an hour. Romanian potential is presented in figure 14. On the Romanian territory, the highest values, over 2300 hours annually, are recorded on the Black Sea coast, as a result of the prevalence of the clear sky weather throughout most part of the year, induced by the descending air in the proximity of the Black Sea. The plain areas are different from one another through characteristic sunshine durations, generated by the air mass circulation conditions. Thus, whereas in the Romanian Plain the mean annual sunshine duration sums up more than 2100 hours in its eastern and southeastern part and more than 2200 hours in its centre and west, as a direct result of the continental air prevalence, in the Western Plain the sunshine duration varies from 2047 hours at Satu Mare to 2178 hours at Sinnicolau Mare. [18] Solar radiation reaching the surface is made up of two components, direct and diffuse. Direct radiation is the part which travels unimpeded through space and the atmosphere to the surface; and diffuse radiation is the part scattered by atmospheric constituents such as molecules, aerosols, and clouds. In simple terms, direct radiation causes shadows, and diffuse is responsible for sky light. The sum of the direct and diffuse components reaching a horizontal surface is global radiation. The presentation of the full process to obtain PV power plant operation permit and license in Romania is given in figure 15. [17] In 2016, according to Transelectrica data, the capacity of the photovoltaic energy projects installed year by year in Romania, reaches a solar capacity of 1055 MW. The exponential growth of the solar installations capacity in Romania is seen as a great success by experts in green energy. Given that, at the end of 2012, Romania had only 28 de MW of PV capacity. In figure 18 a map of all renewable energy projects (developed or under development) is given. The map is interactive if used online, available at http://www.fabricadecercetare.ro/

Fig. 15. Mean annual sunshine duration (1961 – 2000) in Romania

Fig. 16. PV permit and license cycle/procedure.

Fig. 17. An example of typical energy production soursec in Romania, in a summer month – June 2016 (According to Transelectrica)

Fig. 18. Renewable energy project in Romania (http://www.fabricadecercetare.ro/) A large number of projects (red) are photovoltaic facilities, as one can see in figure 18, with a total capacity of more than 1 GW.

4.3. Serbian solar energy sector Serbia has considerable renewable energy resources characterized by seasonal complementarity of solar and wind energy potentials. It has been established that

Fig.19. Map of solar energy potential in Serbia [10] This is a consequence of the increased daytime cloudiness characteristic of the region over the summertime. Knowing the amount of solar energy received over the vegetation period is also important for calculating the potential for biomass production. [10] A research conducted by Serbian scientists showed that around 0.64 MTOE a year (around 16.7% of the whole potential) is found in the exploitation of solar energy, including the fact that in Serbia the number of hours of Sun is much higher than in some other European

5. Geothermal

Geothermal energy is heat energy that is stored within the earth. Geothermal energy has until recently had a considerable economic potential only in areas where thermal water or steam is found concentrated at depths less than 3 km in restricted volumes, analogous to oil in commercial oil reservoirs. This has changed in the last two decades with the development of power plants that can economically utilize lower temperature resources (around 100°C) and the emergence of ground source heat pumps using the earth as a heat source for heating or as a heat sink for cooling, depending on the season. This has made it possible for all countries to use the heat of the earth for heating and/or cooling, as appropriate. It should be stressed that heat pumps can be used basically everywhere. [19]

Fig.20. Direct applications of geothermal worldwide in 2004 by percentage of total energy use [19]

Geothermal utilization is commonly divided into two categories, i.e. electricity production and direct application. Conventional electric power production is commonly limited to fluid temperatures above 180°C, but considerably lower temperatures can be used with the application of binary fluids (outlet temperatures commonly about

70°C). The ideal inlet temperatures into buildings for space heating is about 80°C, but by application of larger radiators in houses/or the application of heat pumps or auxiliary boilers, thermal water with temperatures only a few degrees above the ambient temperature can be used beneficially. [19] The main types of direct applications of geothermal energy are space heating 52% (thereof 32% using heat pumps), bathing and swimming (including balneology) 30%, horticulture (greenhouses and soil heating) 8%, industry 4%, and aquaculture (mainly fish farming) 4%. [19] Space heating, of which more than 80% are district heating, is among the most important direct uses of geothermal energy. Preferred water delivery temperature for space heating is in the range 60-90°C and commonly the return water temperature is 25-40°C. Conventional radiators or floor heating systems are typically used, but air heating systems are also possible. If the temperature of the resource is too low for direct application, geothermal heat pumps can be used. Space cooling can also be provided by geothermal systems; geothermal heat pumps can heat and cool with the same equipment. Open loop (single pipe) distribution systems are used for both private users and district heating systems. In that case geothermal water is used directly for heating and the spent water from radiators is discharged at the surface to waste. This type of system is only possible where the water quality is good and recharge into the geothermal system adequate. More commonly closed loop (double pipe) systems are used. Then heat exchangers are used to transfer heat from the geothermal water to a closed loop that circulates heated freshwater through the radiators. This is often needed because of the chemical composition of the geothermal water. The spent water is disposed of into wells which are called reinjection wells. Closed loop systems are more flexible than open loop systems and they allow substitution of the geothermal energy with other energy sources. Both of these two main types of district heating systems are shown schematically in Figure 21. [19]

Fig.21. Two main types of district heating systems. G=gas separator, P=pump, B=boiler, R=radiation heating, HX=heat exchanger (Dickson and Fanelli, 2003).

5.2. Romanian Banat geothermal

Geothermal energy in Romania is mainly located, in the western part of the country, in the Banat region and the western part of the Apuseni Mountains with the most important source located in the Bihor County especially around the city of Oradea, that has been using geothermal energy for more than a hundred years. Theoretically Romania has the third highest potential geothermal capacity in Europe after Greece and Italy. The direct- use heating has been mostly district heating serving 5500 residences in Oradea and the city of Beiuş is the only city in Romania entirely heated by geothermal energy. Romania has a total of 200 drilled wells at depths between 800 metres and 3400 metres and a capacity of 480 MWt with a utilisation of 7,975 TJ/year or 2,215 GWh/year. [22] The main Romanian geothermal resources are found in porous and permeable sandstones and siltstones (for example, in the Western Plain and the Olt Valley), or in fractured carbonate formations (Oradea, Bors, North Bucharest). [23] The total capacity of the existing wells is about 480 MWt (for a reference temperature of 25°C). Of this total, only about 200 MWt are currently used, from about 96 wells (of which 40 wells are used only for balneology and bathing) that are producing hot water in the temperature range of 40-120°C. For 2014, the annual energy utilization from these wells was about 400 GWh. More than 80% of the wells are artesian producers, 18 wells require antiscaling chemical treatment, and 6 are used for reinjection. The main direct uses of the geothermal energy are [23]:  space and district heating;  bathing;  greenhouse heating;  industrial  process heat;  fish farming and animal husbandry. During 2010-2014, two geothermal wells have been drilled in Romania with national financing. One, in Oradea, is producing geothermal water at 90°C wellhead temperature. The second one, in Beius, is used for reinjection. Several shallow geothermal wells were drilled in Felix Spa, the water being used only for recreational purposes. In late 2012, Transgex S.A. installed the first power generation unit in Romania. It is a 50 kWe unit, manufactured by ElectraTherm, which is using 10 l/s of 105˚C geothermal water from the production well in the Iosia district, Oradea. [23] The Pannonian geothermal aquifer is multilayered, confined and is located in the sandstones at the basement of the Upper Pannonian (late Neocene age), on an approximate area of 2500 km2 along the western border of Romania, from Satu Mare in the north to Timisoara and Jimbolia in the south. The aquifer is situated at the depth of 800 to 2400 m. It was investigated by more than 100 geothermal wells, all possible producers, out of which 33 are currently exploited. The thermal gradient is 45-55°C/km. The wellhead temperatures range between 50 and 85°C. The mineralization (TDS) of the geothermal waters is 4-5 g/l (sodium-bicarbonate-chloride type) and most of the waters show carbonate scaling, prevented by downhole chemical inhibition. [23]

Fig.22. Direct use of geothermal resources in Eastern Europe, in MWt. [24]

Fig.23. Location of main Hydro-Geothermal Areas in Romania. [24]

Fig.24. Location of main Hydro-Geothermal Areas in Romania. [24]

Analyzing figure 23 and 24 one can notice that Banat are has a significant potential to develop its renewable potential thru geothermal energy, and should be used or at least investigated, the potential of using geothermal energy for district heating in large Banat cities. The current direct utilization in the country includes [25]:  29.63 MWt and 207.28 TJ/yr for individual space heating;  78.31 MWt and 616.17 TJ/yr for district heating;  15.69 MWt and 80.49 TJ/yr for greenhouses (8 locations);  4.78 MWt and 9.50 TJ/yr for fish farming (one location);  6.32 MWt and 12.70 TJ/yr for agricultural drying;  3.75 MWt and 6.84 TJ/yr for industrial process heat (4 locations);  66.55 MWt and 492.34 TJ/yr for bathing and swimming;  40 MWy and 480 TJ/yr for geothermal heat pumps.

5.3. Serbian Banat geothermal

In Serbia (as well as in Romania), geothermal energy is underused, although our countries belongs to the group of states with rich geothermal potentials. The presence of mineral and thermo-mineral waters in the Pannonian Plain has been well-known since

Investing in your future! Romania-Republic of Serbia IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme is financed by the European Union under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) and co-financed by the partner states in the programme. For more information, please access www.romania-serbia.net EUROPEAN UNION Structural Funds GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA SERBIAN GOVERNMENT 2007 - 2013 POLITEHNICA UNIVERSITY TIMIȘOARA ancient times. Written documents indicate that they were used by ancient Romans and later by the Turks. In the most recent history, the drilling of first artesian wells started in Banat. The drilling of an artesian well in Pavlisa near Vrsac was mentioned in 1848. The depth of the first wells was up to 400 m and some of them are used even today. [19] At the moment, 160 long holes are being exploited whose water temperature is around 60 8C (140 8F) and their heat power reach 160 MJ/s. It was stated that adequate exploitation of existing and new geothermal sources a yearly would save about 500,000 tons of fossil fuels what is proportional to the 10% of the today’s heating system. The total amount of heat accumulated at geothermal deposit sites in Serbia, up to 3 km of depth, is two times greater than the total amount of heat that may be generated by burring all available coal reserves in Serbia. Price of electrical energy produced from geothermal springs is estimated to be between 9.2 US cents/kWh and 11.5 US cents/kWh. In order to support exploitation of geothermal energy (as well as all other renewable sources of energy) the decision that all the producers of energy from renewable sources get a status of privileged producers were made. [20] A research conducted by Serbian scientists showed that around 0.2 MTOE a year (around 5.2% of the whole renewable resources potential) is found in the existent geothermal springs which are for the most part located on the territory of Vojvodina. [20] On the territory of Serbia not belonging to the Pannonian Basin, there are 160 natural springs of geothermal waters with temperature higher than 15°C. The highest water temperatures are in Vranjska Banja (96°C), then in Jošani čka Banja (78°C), Sijerinska Banja (72°C) etc. The total flow of all natural geothermal springs is about 4.000 liters/second. The total quantity of heat accumulated in geothermal water localities in Serbia up to 3000 meters of depth is about twice as much as the equivalent heat energy which could be generated by the combustion of all types of coal from all coal localities in Serbia. The flow from 62 geothermal drill holes on the territory of Vojvodina is about 550 liters/second with about 50 MW thermal energy and 108 MW from 48 drill holes in other parts of Serbia. Geothermal sources on the territory of Serbia and the geological map of the terrain indicating the localities of these springs are shown in Figure 2 [19] Geothermal flow density represents the main parameter used to estimate the geothermal potential at the certain location. This parameter represents the amount of thermal energy flowing each second through the area of 1 m2 of the earth’s interior and reaching the surface of the earth. The value of this parameter in Serbia is mostly higher than 60 mW/m2, which represents the average value of flow density in Europe. The highest values of this parameter are at Vojvodina, northern part of Serbia. [20] Exploitation of geothermal energy which is chosen as primary type of renewable energy sources in Serbia is an unjustly low level talking into account the abundance of resource locations, some of which are ranked among the most affluent in Europe. With relatively small investments, compared to conventional imported and environmentally unclean fuels and domestic fuels, geothermal energy and bio fuels, in next 10 years, may cover 10% the total heating requirements in Serbia. [20]

Fig.25. The map of geothermal potentials in Serbia. [19]

6. Biomass. Biomass differs from other alternative energy sources in that the resource is variable, and it can be converted to energy through many conversion processes. Biomass resources can be divided into four general categories:  Wastes: agricultural production wastes, agricultural processing wastes, crop residues, mill wood wastes, urban wood wastes, and urban organic wastes;  Forest products: wood, logging residues, trees, shrubs and wood residues, sawdust, bark etc. from forest clearings;  Energy crops: short rotation woody crops, herbaceous woody crops, grasses, starch crops (corn, wheat and barley), sugar crops (cane and beet), oilseed crops (soybean, sunflower, safflower);  Aquatic plants: algae, water weeds, water hyacinth, reed and rushes. Biomass contributes about 12% of today's world primary energy supply, while in many developing countries, its contribution ranges from 40% to 50%. Conversion of

6.1. Romanian Banat biomass

In Romania, the majority in the biomass potential is cereal, corn and grapevine waste, followed by firewood, biogas, urban household waste and wood waste as presented in figure 23.

Fig.26. Biomass potential in Romania. [32]

Biomass carries the highest potential for green energy production in the country, amounting around 88.33 TWh per year. It is estimated that approximatively 36% of this potential is currently used, but so far, biomass usage has mainly focused on household firewood: direct burning, space heating, cooking and water heating account for around 95% of the current biomass exploitation, while industrial biomass use equals only 5%. Carpathians and Sub-Carpathians provide around 66% of the firewood and wood waste, whilst the South Plain, West Plain and Moldova regions provide approximately 58% of the agricultural waste. [32] In Romania, energy produced using biomass and its derivatives, biogas included, remained the sole unaffected by the changes in the subventions scheme which lead to reductions in the amount of green certificates corresponding to solar, wind or hydropower energy. Hence, the electricity generated by biomass power facilities receives 2 GCs/MWh for a 15-year period. Additionally, there is an extra GC, provided biomass derives from energy crops (i.e. rape, soya plants, sunflower, even corn), as well as if the electricity is produced in high-efficiency biomass CHP plants. The National Rural Development Plan (PNDR 2014 - 2020) includes measures meant to support investments in renewable energy with funds amounting to about 760 million euro, concerning the entire period, for investment at farm level which can produce and use renewable energy for own consumption or for economic operators, other than farmers who want to process biomass to obtain renewable energy.

In Romania, the first large biomass (saw dust) power plant was built in Radauti, in 2009 and has an output of 17 MWt and 5 MW electricity. In 2014, at Moara, was built the largest Romanian biogas (biomass) plant, with 3 MWh production, financed entirely from private funds. In Banat area, the first Romanian Waste-to-Energy project is under development in Timisoara, with an investment estimated at over 50 million euros, a power plant that will use a part of Timisoara’s urban wastes (about 78000 tons/year) to produce 5 MW of electricity and 14 MWt.

6.2. Serbian Banat biomass

A research conducted by Serbian scientists showed that around 2.4 MTOE (million tons of oil equivalent) a year (i.e. around 62% of total renewable resources) of the whole potential is in the exploitation of the biomass, 1 MTOE of which makes the potential of wood biomass (felling of the trees or wood waste mass during its primary and/or industrial processing) and more than 1.4 MTOE is made of agricultural biomass. [20] So far the use of renewable energy in Serbia has been based on the production of electricity from large river flows and the use of biomass mainly for households heating and to a lesser extent in industry. [26] Serbia has relatively high biomass energy potential. Forest biomass accounts for 39.8% of the total energy potential of biomass in Serbia. Of all the forms of biomass, the one most exploited currently in Serbia, in terms of energy, is the wood biomass. In addition, a very important source of biomass in Serbia (particularly in Vojvodina) is plant biomass in agriculture (crop residues from plant, fruit and grape production). [26] In Serbia, briquettes production started in early eighties. The first presses for the production of biomass were produced in the company Igman, later Unis Igman Konjic, and were installed in the company Novi Dom in Debeljača (Banat). In mideighties the program of the Committee on Energy, the Provincial Secretariat of Economy of Vojvodina, encouraged buying briquetting presses for the agricultural biomass amounting to 30% of the grant. [26] The waste in the animal production is another source of renewable energy in Serbia. Available quantity of liquid manure in poultry and cattle farms of medium and large capacity allows the production of biogas energy at the level of 42 200 Mtoe. The first biogas plant in Serbia, with the capacity of 1 MW, was commissioned on October 20, 2012, in Vrbas. [26] Figure 27 presents the structure of RES in Serbia, in 2013, ane one can see that the unused biomass potential of Serbia represents 41 % off all available RES resources. [7]

Fig.27. Structure of RES in the Republic of Serbia [7]

The biomass potential of Serbia is given in table 4. [30] Table 4. Biomass Supply potentials in Serbia Potential (PJ) Total Biomass (I + II) 101.8 I. Forest biomass 31.8 Fuelwood 23.6 Forest residues 2.8 Other wood industry residues 0.5 Sawmill residues 4.4 Bark 0.5 II. Agricultural biomass 70.5 Field crop residues 58 Arboricultural residues 5.5 Livestock residues (for biogas) 7

Agricultural biomass residues are found mainly in the northern part of Serbia, in the region of Vojvodina, where fertile agricultural soil makes up 84% of the region’s territory. It is estimated that approximately 4 million tons of field crop and arboricultural residues could be annually exploited for energy purposes. This is equivalent to 64 PJ of energy. [30] Despite the fact that wood industry residues are almost entirely exploited for various purposes, forest residues remain largely unexploited. It is estimated that less than 10% of forest residues are currently utilized and therefore these could become a significant source of biomass for wood fuels production in the future. Agricultural residues and animal wastes are also largely unused for energy production but there is growing interest by some agro-industrial sectors in the use of their residues as a cost-effective means to provide space or process heat. In recent years, several companies have installed boilers using residues (straw from soybean and wheat, maize cobs, sunflower husks) and there is growing interest for biogas installations. [30] The biomass to electricity market is underdeveloped for two main reasons, first is the lack of private equity and second the inability to secure long-term supply of biomass which prevents the creation of successful bankable projects. State-owned companies Srbijasume and Vojvodinasume, that manage around 50% of forests in Serbia,

7. Hydro energy

7.1. Romanian hydro energy Romania is very rich in water resources. Hydro energy installations were also largely used, especially for milling purposes from the past. In 1896, the first hydropower plant was commissioned on the Sadu River with an installed power of 1.28 MW, which was the third hydro-electrical station constructed in Europe. More than 150 hydropower plants were constructed since 1950. At the end of 2001, Romania had a total installed hydropower capacity of 6011 MW. Almost two thirds of the hydropower plants have less than 30 MW installed power, and 15 of them are large hydroelectric station, with more than 100 MW installed capacities. [28] Besides some critical aspects of small hydropower plants the most relevant to be considered is the environment. After numerous cases of hydropower projects infringing environmental regulations, a greater concern in respect to this issue arose amidst the authorities, resulting into a new hindrance in the development of SHP projects. Electricity production from hydroelectric sources (% of total) in Romania was 25.55 as of 2013. Its highest value over the past 42 years was 36.07 in 1999, while its lowest value was 11.39 in 1971. [29]

Fig.28. Evolution of hydropower production in Romania, in % of total. [29]

Small-scale hydroelectric production generally does not involve the construction of a dam. Instead, part of the flow is diverted through a pipe to a downstream turbine which generates the electricity. In theory, this should not have a big impact on the environment, but in many cases pipes have been installed in the bed of the stream and diverted water amounts to as much as 80 percent of the flow, posing lasting threats to local and regional biodiversity. (http://phys.org/news/2014-01-romania-hydropower-areas.html) In 2013, a national campaign “Mountain rivers: the last chance” of WWF-Romania mobilized associations of fishermen, researchers, academics and ecotourism groups across the country, and Romanian nature lovers signed the petition to stop the approval of small hydropower sites under existing laws. As a result, the authorities temporarily suspended the approval process and created a joint working group of government and civil society experts to develop a set of additional criteria for the development of hydropower. The government also promised to assign “no-go” areas at national level, where small hydropower could not be built or would be very restricted. (www.panda.org)

Drying river bed in Fagaras Mountains, in Natura 2000 protected area. (phys.org)

In 2014 in Romania where developed or under development about 500 so-called “micro” hydropower plants, most of them in the wild mountains of Romania. The most controversial where those constructed on the south slopes of Fagaras mountains, where most of their rivers were 100% captured in pipes. According to studies of ONG (such as WWF or wildlife protection organization Milvus), in Romania thousands of rivers disappeared in the past 5 years in the “pipes” of the micro-hydro power plants.

Dry river bed in Carpathian Mountains, after micro-hydro plant pipes captured the river. (wwf.panda.org)

Due to significant environmental issues found in the micro-hydro plants, Romania has suspended all hydropower projects in 2014, in protected areas.

7.2. Serbian hydro energy

The most important renewable energy resource of Serbia is hydro potential (around 17000 GWh); of which up to date around 10,000 GWh has been used. The installed capacity of hydropower plants in Serbia is 2831 MW, which represents 34% of the total installed electric power resources for electricity generation. Around 9930 GWh per year is produced in these plants, which represents 25.5% of the total annual electricity production in Serbia. An overview and characteristics of some active hydro power plants in Serbia is shown in Table 3. [26] Taking into consideration geomorphological and hydrological characteristics of the terrain, Serbia's hydropower potential has been estimated at 31000 GWh per year, 17000 GWh of which are technically usable. The existing large hydropower plants use about 10000 GWh. The remaining 7000 GWh could be used by constructing large (75%) and small (25%) hydropower plants. The potential of small watercourses suitable for installing mini hydropower plants reaches 0.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent or 3% of the total potential of renewable sources in Serbia. [27] Small hydropower plants have a long tradition in Serbia. A signiﬁcant number of SHPs have been built there and some of them are still in use. Other facilities were closed and dilapidated and many of them are in a ruinous condition. The hydropower plant Pod Gradom on the Đetinja River was the ﬁrst such facility in Serbia. This plant, installed in 1900, was based on Nikola Tesla's principle of three-phase alternating current. Between 1900 and 1940, 26 SHPs were built; 10 of them are still in use. [27]

In the past, Vojvodina's hydropower potential was used as a moving power for water- mills and electricity production in small hydropower facilities for local needs. Mills that occasionally use hydropower (water-mills on the Karaš River: Jasenovo, Straža, Vojvodinci) can still be found, whereas hydropower facilities are not used anymore and they have merely a museum interest. [27] Conducted research in Serbia [27] shows that the greatest hydropower potential usable for SHPs is located in the west (in the Kraljevo and Užice regions) and south (the Niš region) parts of Serbia, which are mountainous areas. The greatest number of such facilities could be installed in the region where the ﬁrst small hydropower plant in Serbia was built—in the Užice region. In the northern, ﬂatland area of Serbia (Podunavlje, Vojvodina, the Belgrade area), hydropower potential is somewhat lower but having in mind that these regions are the most densely populated and economically most developed parts of Serbia, it should also be taken into account. [27] From 2009, when the legal framework with incentive measures (“feed-in” tariffs) was established for the first time in the Republic of Serbia, until December 2014, 45 small hydropower plants with the total installed capacity of around 33.5МWwere build up. [31]

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[27] Milena Panić, Marko Urošev, Ana Milanović Pe šić, Jovana Brankov, Željko Bjeljac, Small hydropower plants in Serbia: Hydropower potential, current state and perspectives, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 23 (2013) 341–349 [28] Pete Istvan, Tamas Ervin, ANALYSIS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ITS IMPACT ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA, 2009, http://www.euroqualityfiles.net/AgriPolicy/Report%202.2/AgriPolicy%20WP2D2%20Romania%20Draft.pdf [29] IEA Statistics © OECD/IEA 2014 (http://www.iea.org/stats/index.asp) [30] Project ID: 00086739, Reducing Barriers to Accelerate the Development of Biomass Markets in Serbia, UNDP Environmental Finance Services, 2014 – 2018, https://info.undp.org/docs/pdc/Documents/SRB/ [31] REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, Ministry of Mining and Energy, Progress Report on Implementation of the National Renewable Energy. Action Plan of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, December 2014, [32] Florin Bujac, Evaluating the potential of renewable energy sources in Romania, M.Sc. Program of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management Aalborg University, Denmark 2011 [33] Camelia Ciubota-Rosie, Maria Gavrilescu, Matei Macoveanu, BIOMASS – AN IMPORTANT RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY IN ROMANIA, Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, 2008, Vol.7, No.5, 559-568 European Commission, “Energy 2020 A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy”, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0639&from=EN European Commission, “Energy Roadmap 2050”, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52011DC0885&from=EN European Commission, “European Energy Security Strategy”, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52014DC0330&from=EN EU Energy Strategies, https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-strategy Renewable Energy World Magazine http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/magazine/renewable-energy-world.html http://totb.ro/energie-verde-romania-a-treia-tara-cu-potential-geotermal-din-europa/ http://www.business24.ro/energie/energie-electrica/timisul-isi-face-masterplan-energetic-locuinte-incalzite-cu-apa-geotermala- 1539006 http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/magazine/renewable-energy-world.html http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0639&from=EN http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52011DC0885&from=EN https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-strategy/2020-energy-strategy

Investing in your future! Romania-Republic of Serbia IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme is financed by the European Union under the Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) and co-financed by the partner states of the programme.

Project title: Partnership for promoting green energy in the rural area of the Romanian-Serbian Cross - border region, GEROS, MIS ETC Code 1414 Material editor: POLITEHNICA UNIVERSITY TIMISOARA Publishing date: August 2016 The content of this material does not necessarily represent the official position of the European Union. In case of any complains, contact: [email protected]