Minister: Desulfurization Facility at Thermal Plant to Be Completed by End of Month

Nikola Tesla A thermal power plant (BETAPHOTO/MINISTRY OF MINING AND ENERGY OF SERBIA/Emilija Jovanovic)

Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic announced after touring the construction site of a flue gas desulfurization facility at the Nikola Tesla A thermal power plant on March 25 that the work on the project would be completed by the end of the month, when the facility would be launched for a trial run.

"This is the biggest environmental project in any thermal plant in Europe, and the third largest in the world, for which we have set aside almost EUR215 million," Djedovic Handanovic said, recalling that the project had the financial support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The minister added that the project would contribute to reducing the emissions of sulfur dioxide tenfold, and those of particulate matter to within the limits established in the European Union and by national regulations, and said the residents of Obrenovac, surrounding villages and Belgrade would have cleaner air, the ministry stated in a press release.

"Through projects like this one, we extend the environmental lifetime of thermal plants to a point, which is important for the production of baseload energy. Until we have built sufficient renewable energy source capacities or until we arrive at another baseload energy supply, we will have to rely on thermal power capacities -- in line with the strictest environmental standards, of course," she said.

On the possibility of introducing nuclear energy production, the minister said that the process could not be a quick one, but that the return of domestic experts from abroad was being discussed, as was from which country Serbia could import the necessary technology.

"That is not a short-term project. We're talking 2039 or 2040 possibly, if we started to work on it now," Djedovic Handanovic said.