Kosova e Re, also known as the New Kosovo project, is a plan of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo to build a new 500 MW power plant near

Prishtina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

, to rehabilitate the existing Kosovo B power plant and completely shut down the Kosovo A power plant which is considered the largest source of pollution in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. It also includes the development of a new

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

mine in order to meet the needs of the Kosovo B and the newly constructed

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

.Rastello, Sandrine. Coal-Fired Plant in Kosovo Tests World Bank Clean-Air Pledge. ''Bloomberg'', June 2, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref> It is estimated to cost US$2 billion.Kosova e Re lignite power plant, Kosovo. ''CEE Bankwatch''. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref> The government has identified the need for additional generation capacities to address long-term concerns about the country's power supply security. Government policy goals, also presented in all Kosovo Energy Strategies, apart from the plans for new generation electricity capacities, also aim at involving the private sector in the Kosova e Re Power Plant (KRPP) infrastructure project. It includes development, design, construction, financing, ownership, maintenance and operation in accordance with IED Best Available Techniques (BAT). In 2020, ContourGlobal withdrew from the project and it appears likely that the new power station will not now be built.

History

Plans to address

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

situation began in the early 2000s and originally envisioned a 2,000-MW

plant that would allow the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

to its neighbours. The government presented the plan in July 2009 and it suggested that all work would be finished by 2015 or at least by 2017.Government decides to build the new Kosovo power plant. ''New Kosova report'', July 16, 2009. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
However, the works have not started, mainly because of the opposition from

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s. Over the years

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

setbacks have caused the project to cut down in size.Friedman, Lisa. U.S. on Both Sides of New Battle Over Assistance to 'Ugly' Coal-Fired Power Plant. ''The New York Times'', January 15, 2013. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref>

Financing

To attract

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some specie ...

s whom are concerned about

credit risk A credit risk is risk of default on a debt that may arise from a borrower failing to make required payments. In the first resort, the risk is that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased ...

s, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

offered US$60 million in

loan guarantee A loan guarantee, in finance, is a promise by one party (the guarantor) to assume the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. A guarantee can be limited or unlimited, making the guarantor liable for only a portion or all of the d ...

s that would set in if the government failed to meet obligations such as supplying

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

. This means that the

, as well as the biggest

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

- the United States of America, will need to make an exception in their clean-energy commitments. On the 15th of January 2013, representatives of the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build Market economy, market economies. ...

met with Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, expressing their interest to support the New Kosovo project.Prime Minister Thaçi received in a meeting senior representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). ''The office of the Prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo'', June 17, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref> However, on December the 10th 2013 the

EBRD The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially foc ...

employed a new

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

which decreased funding for the

coal plants A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts Nameplate capacity, capacity. They ...

, with exception of rare circumstances.Smith, Tierney. European development bank turns its back on dirty coal. ''The Global Call for Climate Action'', December 10, 2013. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
If Kosova e Re will meet the criteria of a "rare curcumstance" remains to be seen.

Supporters

’s low

GDP per capita Lists of countries by GDP per capita list the countries in the world by their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The lists may be based on nominal or purchasing power parity GDP. Gross national income (GNI) per capita accounts for inflows ...

of US$3,894 makes it one of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

’s poorest countries. A major obstacle for the

economic growth Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...

and

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped *Photographi ...

is the inadequate and unreliable

electricity supply Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...

.Expert Panel Finalizes its Review of the Kosovo Power Project. ''The World Bank'', February 1, 2012. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref> The country has the world's fifth-largest reserves of

which could, with the current

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

levels, supply the country for another 1500 years.Salem, Harriet. Kosovo pays a heavy toll for lack of reliable energy. ''The Guardian'', November 19, 2013. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref> Supporters of the project (at the forefront being the

and the

U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

) see

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

as the quickest way out of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and a way to procure

’s energy independence and consequently its

energy security Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven ...

. There are also those who support Kosova e Re from the

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

stand point. In the report of Kosova e Re by the Expert Panel of the

, reviewed that the project discovered that

particulate matter Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...

emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit rad ...

produced by Kosova e Re would be reduced by more than 90%,

Sulfur oxide Sulfur oxide refers to many types of sulfur and oxygen containing compounds such as SO, SO2, SO3, S7O2, S6O2, S2O2, etc. Sulfur oxide (SO''x'') refers to one or more of the following: * Lower sulfur oxides (S''n''O, S7O2 and S6O2) * Sulfur monox ...

and

nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral *Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide *Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), or n ...

reduced by around 70% and would be

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

, if not

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...

reducing, for each

MWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

produced. Kjorton Bjornson from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

in July 2009 expressed support for the construction of the new

with the view to shut down Kosovo A plant. However, the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

on the integration process of

into the EU stated that the financial aid provided by the EU should be devoted to supporting

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

projects to close down its two highly polluting

coal plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a th ...

s.European Parliament resolution of 6 June 2013 on the European integration process of Kosovo. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref> It calls on the

to take action to contest plans such as Kosova e Re that run counter to EU

climate commitment Climate commitment describes the fact that climate reacts with a delay to influencing factors ("climate forcings") such as the presence of greenhouse gases. Climate commitment studies attempt to assess the amount of future global warming that is " ...

s.European Parliament wants green energy, not coal, as part of Kosovo integration. ''CEE Bankwatch'', April 19, 2013. Retrieved on 2014-16-06.
/ref>

Opposition

Certain groups and organisations are of the view that the new

would mean the continuation of traditional

-based

electricity production Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery (transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its storag ...

. Today

wastes 30% of available energy due to energy efficiency, 37% due to technical losses, the outdated electrical grid and other commercial losses, such as

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. A study by Dr.

Daniel Kammen Daniel Merson Kammen is an American scientist, renewable energy expert, and former government figure. He currently serves as Distinguished Professor of Energy in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a ...

shows that "

can cover 38% of its energy consumption from

renewable sources A renewable resource, also known as a flow resource, is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...

". He also specified that this scenario, without including the Kosova e Re

, would create 27% more jobs than current scenarios.

Energy Community The Energy Community, commonly referred to as the Energy Community of South East Europe (ECSEE), is an international organization consisting of the European Union (EU) and a number of non-EU countries. It aims to extend the EU internal energy ...

commitments cite that Kosovo needs to source 25% of overall energy from renewable sources by 2020, which will be harder to achieve if the new power plant is to be constructed. Th
Kosovo Civil Society Consortium for Sustainable Development
(KOSID) are questioning the necessity of the costly power plant and instead propose energy efficiency programmes, which tackle of energy losses, renewable energy development and the rehabilitation of the existing Kosovo B Power Station. They also raise the issue of the

and social impacts the new project would have on Kosovars. There are 835 deaths per year in Kosovo due to

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

, of which the

power plants A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

are responsible for a substantial proportion. A new power station could make matters worse. KOSID also stressed the issue of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

and

agricultural land Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other organism, forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous ...

shortage and the resettlement of the local population which consists mostly of farmers who will need compensation for the lost land and

livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential t ...

References

{{Reflist, 33em

External links

*http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/sites/all/files/Kosovo20May2012.pdf *http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTENERGY2/0,,contentMDK:22970700~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:4114200,00.html *http://bankwatch.org/our-work/projects/kosova-e-re-lignite-power-plant-kosovo *http://www.kosid.org/ Electric power infrastructure in Kosovo