Prishtina Insight
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July 3 - 16, 2009 Issue No. 19 FREE COPY FEATURE Kosovo’s Young Turn to Fortunetellers for Counselling page 7 POLITICS Macedonia and Kosovo Seize Chance to Mend Fences Kosovo’s Energy Policy: page 4 Between a Rock and a Hard Place BUSINESS Photo byPhoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit Kosovo Using the ‘Palestinian Kosovo’s government is expected to announce arguably its most important economic and environmental decision for the Route’ to Secure Dialling Code future of the country in the coming days. Prishtina Insight brings you the story of how plans for one of the world’s largest lignite coal power plants have become caught in a struggle between the World Bank and the United States, and different factions of Kosovo’s government, and analyses the difficult choices in determining how to balance energy security, economic development, and environmental protection. rime Minister Hashim Thaci natural reserve – lignite – and the ing Kosovo’s two lignite fired power consulting firms, hired by USAID at a and Finance Minister Ahmet future of its power production. An plants, Kosova A and Kosova B, ten cost of 20 million dollars to advise PShala jetted off to Washington announcement is expected next kilometres from Prishtina, are wit- Kosovo’s Ministry of Energy and this week to sign up to membership week, possibly bringing an end to 4 nesses to the 200 tonnes of dust Ministry of Economy on its econom- of the World Bank and the years of debate. released into the air each day. ic development. page 5 International Monetary Fund. Since its liberation in 1999, Kosovo The emissions of sulphur dioxide, The World Bank also began work- Kosovo’s accession to these institu- has been unable to produce enough nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide far ing on the development of this giant INSIDE PRISHTINA tions has been widely praised as a electricity to meet its own demand. exceed the standard EU limits. project, sending in experts and advi- key milestone in the country’s eco- Despite 800 million euro in interna- In 2006, Kosovo’s Ministry of sors at a cost of 10 million dollars. Pandora’s Panorama nomic progress, but perhaps the most tional aid to the energy sector, KEK, Energy unveiled plans to solve With a ballpark investment of 3.5 important event to have occurred on the public Kosovo Energy Kosovo’s energy crisis and economic billion euro, such a deal would be the this auspicious visit happened Corporation, has been crippled by woes in one fell swoop with a lignite- biggest private investment project behind closed doors. aging power plants in a state of disre- fired 2,100MW plant. Kosovo has ever seen. A final series of debates took place pair and deplorable collection rates – It was no surprise that Kosovo was It was hailed as the deal that would transform Kosovo from a poor, ener- between the leading ministers, the less than half of the energy is paid for. exploring its energy and economic gy deficient country into an export US and World Bank, in a last round of Meanwhile, the Kosovo govern- potential with lignite. Kosovo sits on power for the Balkans. a tug-of-war which has split the inter- ment regularly must dig out 150 to 200 the fifth largest lignite reserve in the The winner of the huge tender was national community and the Kosovo million euro each year from its budg- world, an estimated 14 billion tonnes. set to be announced by the end of government. et to keep KEK on its feet and Kosovo This project, named Kosova C, was 2007, and the first plant to be complet- Prishtina Insight understands that with its lights on. developed in close consultation with ed by 2012. page 11 a decision has now been made on the The 700,000 citizens who live in the Bearing Point, one of the world’s future of Kosovo’s most important densely populated region surround- largest management and technology continues on page 2 ARTE Exclusive City Stories to Remember, Stories to Forget UNMIK Reminds EULEX it Still Controls Prishtina Gifts €15 million of Land to Former Prishtina Headquarters US for New Embassy UNMIK has reminded EULEX that Prishtina’s Municipal Assembly is to under resolution 1244 it remains in con- hand five hectares of prime real estate to trol of its former headquarters in central the US government for a new embassy, Prishtina, now the home of EULEX according to an agreement signed police. between the two parties on Wednesday. Senior officials at the UN mission Elected members representing wrote to EULEX... Prishtina decided to... page 3 page 6 page 10 is supported by: 2 • july 3 - 16, 2009 news Kosovo’s Energy Policy: Between a Rock and a Hard Place from page 1 [2,100MW] power plant and the Sibovc mine.” However, a number of factors Former Minister of Energy, Ethem stopped the project in its tracks. Ceku, previously the Minister of First, citizens and environmental- Environment, says that environmental ists, led by the Kosovo think-tank, impact studies have been made, which Forum 2015, began a campaign clearly demonstrate Kosovo has suffi- against the project, questioning the cient water to cool a 2,100MW plant, environmental and business case for and that all EU environmental stan- Kosova C. dards could be met. The World Bank soon started to According to the research conduct- see problems too, creating a rift ed so far on alternative energy poten- among the international players tial in Kosovo, no single, clear abun- involved. dant source of renewable energy Finally, the deal breaker came in exists. November 2007, when PDK won the Kosovo has lignite, and even those general parliamentary elections and calling for more use of renewable formed a new government, vowing to energy agree a new thermoelectric re-evaluate the entire Kosova C proj- power plant must be built in the short ect. term. A year and a half later, Prime The EU Commission has been crit- Minister Hashim Thaci appears to icised by some for not taking a lead- have made a decision on the key ele- ing role in the discussion, given the Elements of the Tender US backed Plan World Bank Plan ments of the Kosovo Re, or New importance of the decision on Capacity of plant 2100MW 1000MW Kosovo, power plant offer,as it is now Kosovo’s European future. Kosovo “A” and “B” Included Kept Separate named. The EU Commission Liaison Sibovc Mine Included Included The USAID backed advisors and Office in Kosovo said it does not take Years of Lease 40 No position the US embassy have been actively a position on the size of any new State Fees Based on electricity Based on lignite lobbying for a plan similar to the power plants planned in candidate Photo byPhoto FoNet original proposal. In April 2008, member states or potential candi- USAID held a presentation during Kosovo’s power plant dates. which they reaffirmed their commit- billion tonnes of lignite, approxi- Energy, Ethem Ceku, the champion 20 per cent of energy supplied by It added: “The commission howev- ment to the Kosova C option. mately enough to feed a 2,100MW of the Kosova C project, blames the alternative, renewable energy. er does insist that Kosovo – when The World Bank has been arguing plant for 40 years, which is also how current government for damaging Proponents of the Kosova C model, planning and building the new power for a smaller plant to be built initial- long the Americans propose the deal Kosovo’s economic development. with a 2,100MW capacity, argue that plant – adheres to the relevant EU ly, with the possibility of reaching should be signed for. “When I sent out the expression of the real polluters are Kosova A and, legislation in the area of environ- 2,100MW with new plants in the The Americans and the World interest for Kosova C, we were in the to a lesser extent, Kosova B. ment, social affairs and public pro- future, and a more decentralised con- Bank also differ on how Kosovo’s fees driver’s seat,” reflects Ceku. The new power plant, which they curement. cept of investment and ownership would be negotiated. While the World Opinions also diverge on the con- assure will include the latest tech- “As to the existing power plants, for Kosovo’s energy sector. Bank proposes the deal is made based solidated control and operation, pro- nologies in filtration of dust and the Commission welcomes the deci- Minister of Energy Justina on the price the operator would pay moted by the USAID advisors, and gases, will allow these old plants to sion of the government to decommis- Shiroka Pula supports the World the state per tonne of lignite mined, the more decentralised vision of the close down, and will improve the sion Kosova A by 2017, this being an Bank plan while Deputy Finance the Americans argue that such an World Bank, which would mean environment in Kosovo. obligation stemming both from the Minister Bedri Hamza supports the arrangement would lead to higher breaking up Kosovo’s energy sector One gas, however, which has not Large Combustion Plants directive US proposal. energy costs for consumers, and that into smaller competitors. been successfully filtered or trapped and the Energy Community Treaty.” the deal should be based on the fees The US advisors oppose this model, in a practical large scale situation But in previous comments at a con- THE COMPETING PLANS paid to the state per kilowatt of ener- arguing that Kosovo is too small a yet, is carbon dioxide, one the leading ference in 2007, the European Commission noted “that the project One of the main disagreements gy produced.