BELGRADE (Serbia), August 30 (SeeNews) – Serbia's government plans to launch the construction of a 350 MW thermal power plant in central Serbia, energy minister Aleksandar Antic said on Friday.
The government has adopted a decision to set up a working group for the management of the construction of the thermal power plant, named Kolubara B, Antic said in a video file posted on the website of news agency Tanjug.
"The project would ensure the long-term stability of the Serbian energy system, especially given the large number of renewable energy power plants," Antic said.
The construction of Kolubara B, located in the town of Veliki Crljeni, started in the early 1990s, but shortly after was abandoned due to the break-up of Yugoslavia. In June 2011, state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) signed a preliminary agreement with Italy's Edison to set up a joint venture for the construction of the plant and in 2012 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressed interest in financing the project.
However, in September 2013, the EBRD said it is no longer interested in financing the plant, due to its policy for limiting lending for coal-fired power plants construction projects and in 2014 the project was again abandoned.