TPP Kostolac is a coal fired

thermal power plant A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

complex operated by Elektroprivreda Srbije, located on the right bank of

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

river, in Kostolac,

Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čačalica (208m). As of 2011, ...

. It is the second largest power plant in Serbia after

TPP Nikola Tesla TPP Nikola Tesla, commonly known as TENT, is a power plant complex operated by Elektroprivreda Srbije, located on the right bank of the river Sava, approximately 40 km upstream from Downtown Belgrade, near the city municipality of Obreno ...

. Within the complex, there are 4 operational units as of October 2020. It makes around 10% of the total available capacity of the electric power system of Serbia and almost 11 percent of the total electric power production in EPS's (Elektroprivreda Srbije) system.

History

The complex has 4 operational units, grouped in Kostolac A and Kostolac B. Kostolac A consists of one 100 MW unit and one 210 MW unit, commissioned in 1967 and 1980, respectively. Kostolac B comprises two 350 MW units (total of 700 MW), B1 and B2, commissioned in 1987 and 1991. In addition to electric power, TPP "Kostolac A" produces heating energy for heating of Kostolac and Požarevac.

Kostolac B3 planned

Also, additional Kostolac B3 unit is planned with installed capacity of 350 MW. For the purposes of running the new plant, expansion of an open pit mine

Drmno Drmno (Serbian Cyrillic: Дрмно) is a village in the municipality of Požarevac, Serbia, around 60 km east of Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, c ...

from 9 to 12 tons of

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 ...

annually is planned.Potpisan ugovor o izgradnji novog bloka TE “Kostolac“
''Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike'', November 20, 2013. Retrieved on 2014-30-07.Serbia: Ambitious energy investment plan, JV and PPP with foreign partners in new TPP and HPP, the report
''Serbia Energy'', January 1, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-30-07. There are already existing units Kostolac A1, A2, B1 and B2 and

and Cirikovac open cast mines at the site. On 20 November 2013, Elektroprivreda Srbije, "Tеrmoеlеktranе i kopovi" Kostolac and Chinese corporation CMEC signed an agreement on construction. Authorities announced that the construction of the

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 ...

is expected to begin by the end of 2014 and to be finished by 2019. Together with the existing blocks B1 and B2 the new plan will satisfy about 20% of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

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 ...

needs. Zhang Chun, president and CEO of CMEC said that the new

will have a positive impact on the environment, because it will comply with the

emission 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 radi ...

s requirements of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

scheduled for 2018. The project depends on financing from the

China Exim Bank China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and unnamed

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

s, and on a state guarantee from the

Government of Serbia The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, � ...

for these

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

s. The 2014 Serbian

state budget A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed spending/expenditure (Healthcare, Educat ...

allocates two guarantees for the project – US$107 million for unnamed

s and US$608 million for the

.Gallop, Pippa
Serbian government props up almighty coal
''Bankwatch'', July 2, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-30-07. Total value of the project amounts to US$715.6 million.

Ownership

Company "Tеrmoеlеktranе i kopovi" Kostolac is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of Elektroprivreda Srbije which is 100% owned by the state of

.Savic, Misha
Serbs Sign $716 Million Coal Plant, Mine Deal With CMEC
''Bloomberg'', November 20, 2013. Retrieved on 2014-30-07.

Controversial issues about Kostolac B3

Inadequate environmental impact assessment

NGOs are of the opinion that the

Environmental impact assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

for the TPP Kostolac B3 is inadequate since it excludes the expansion of the Drmno open-cast mine, does not mention expected levels of

s to air from

heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals are generally defined as ...

and does not consider alternative locations or alternative technologies. There is also no mentioning of transboundary impacts even though the site is just around 15 km from the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n border and even nearer to the River Danube. NGOs also stress that data sources cited in the study for environmental and health information are outdated (from 2006) and very limited.First court case against coal power plant construction in Serbia
''Bankwatch'', July 2, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-30-07. On June the 2nd 2014

n NGO CEKOR (Centre for Ecology and

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

) submitted a formal complaint in front of the Serbian national administrative court against the government’s decision to approve the

Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

study for the construction of a new unit at the TPP Kostolac B. The

complaint In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

, in which the CEKOR exposes failings in the EIA process, is the first of its kind to reach Serbian courts.

Absence of the public procurement procedure

The signing of a

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

with CMEC on 20 November 2013 was done without

public tender Government procurement or public procurement is the procurement of goods, services and works on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. Amounting to 12 percent of global GDP in 2018, government procurement accounts for a subst ...

. This is justified by the

Serbian government The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, � ...

on the basis of Public procurement act, article 2, which says that projects signed under inter-state agreements with other states do not need tender processes.Public Procurement Act.
Retrieved on 2014-30-07. Given the fact that

has the obligation of aligning itself with the

EU legislation European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

, the question arises if the law is in accordance with the EU public procurement and

state aid State aid in the European Union is the name given to a subsidy or any other aid provided by a government that distorts competitions. Under European Union competition law the term has a legal meaning, being any measure that demonstrates any of the ...

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

.Saopštenje za javnost: projekat Kostolac B3 po lupom.
''CEKOR'', April 25, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-31-07.

Events

2014 Floods

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s in May 2014 threatened to reach Kostolac B thermo power plant, however plant workers, fire-fighters and civilian volunteers managed to contain the water by building embankments.Kostolac power plant in east threatened by water
''B92'', May 18, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-30-07.
''Tanjug'', May 18, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-30-07. Given the fact that during

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

RB Kolubara RB Kolubara (full legal name: ''Privredno društvo za proizvodnju, preradu i transport uglja Rudarski basen ''Kolubara'' d.o.o. Lazarevac''; ''Company for the production, processing and transport of coal mine basin Kolubara Ltd. Lazarevac'') is a ...

suffered huge damages,B92. Coal transport from Kolubara to Nikola Tesla power plant resumes. Retrieved 6. 6. 2014
/ref> losing Kostolac would mean another big hit for Serbia’s energy production.

for TPP Kostolac B3 doesn’t assess the vulnerability of the new power plant to flooding.

References

{{Coord, 44, 43, 23.6, N, 21, 10, 17.4, E, display=title Elektroprivreda Srbije Coal-fired power stations in Serbia Electric power companies of Serbia Government-owned companies of Serbia Companies based in Požarevac