How to reduce waste and produce more electric energy?

Germany has nearly 7,000 biogas power plants with the total installed power of 2,500 MW. According to the words of Josef Pelmaier, president of the German Biogas Association, it is the most energy-efficient and cleanest form of electricity generation.

- This form of energy is 80 percent used, while its economic effect is also beneficial since it provides jobs for about 25,000 people in Germany and registers a turnover of about EUR 4.7 billion on annual basis – Mr. Pelmaier said at the forum Alternative Energy Sources, which was held in Belgrade in the first week of May.

The key factors of success in this sector include the availability of raw materials, which are abundant in Serbia, and favorable feed-in tariffs.

- As early as in 2003 we came to the situation that there was not enough waste, that is, raw materials, for new power plants, which is why our capacities were not fully employed for some time. For that reason, the German government started granting subsidies for the growing of vegetables that are used to produce biomass for our power plants. That benefits both agricultural manufacturers and manufacturers of electric and heating energy – said Mr. Pelmaier.

Aleksandar Savic, project manager at Erste Bank, compared the experiences of that bank in Serbia and Czech Republic, which are of a similar size and have nearly the same volume of raw materials required for the operation of biomass power plants.

- Erste Bank has financed the construction of 60 power plants in the Czech Republic, with the total power of 41.6 MW. At the same time, Serbia has not even one such power plant. We have rich experience in this business and plan to expand it to Serbia. Our plan for this year is to finance the construction of 3 biogas plants, with the total power of 13 MW, as well as the construction of 13 mini hydroelectric power plants, with the total power of 12 MW, and 2 wind farms, with the total power of 33 MW – said Savic.

The forum Alternative Energy Sources, organized by the company Yu Kapital, was held on May 5 in Novi Sad and on May 6 in Belgrade. In addition to aforementioned speakers, the forum was also attended by representatives of the competent ministries of Serbia and the Bavaria region in Germany.