Acting Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, emphasized that investments in renewable energy, district heating, regional cooperation and energy efficiency remain the main pillars of Kosovo's energy policies, aiming to increase investor confidence and strengthen the sustainability of the energy system.
At the "French Business Day" event, she said that investments in renewable energy are being developed through transparent and competitive procedures, citing the first wind energy auction, where a French competitor, Aqua Energy, is already part of the process.
"Four main pillars that are essential and have been priorities over the last few years and will continue to be priorities. The first is investment in renewable energy. Here we want to make sure that we have transparent and competitive procedures. And I think that so far we have shown that we are serious in this regard and we have gained the trust of investors. I am very happy to say that we also have the first wind energy auction underway, where we also have a competitor that has already qualified from France, Aqua Energy, which is here with us. We will continue to work with auctions and we will continue to maintain this high level of transparency and competitiveness, which we consider essential not only for ensuring the best prices and quality for our customers, but also for establishing a positive image of Kosovo for foreign investors, an image that reflects the reality of Kosovo today, namely a well-governed, transparent and corruption-free country," she said.
Rizvanolli added that the construction of new central heating systems is another priority that will improve energy efficiency and security.
“I want to highlight another priority, which is something that is not often talked about, or not as often as new electricity generation capacities, which is district heating. The construction of new district heating systems in other cities in Kosovo, which do not yet have these systems, is a top priority for the incoming government. During this period, we have completed the feasibility study, and we now have clarity on which municipalities we want to continue in, because a large part of the challenges we have are related to the increase in demand during the winter due to heating. Here, on the one hand, improving the efficiency of existing heating is a step that we have already started, and on the other hand, the construction of new district heating systems will relieve the electricity system and will be welcome both for energy security and for maintaining the stability of the network during peak winter periods,” she said.
She stressed the importance of regional cooperation for the integration of renewable resources and the stability of the energy grid.
"Regarding regional cooperation, it is also very important to continue to broaden and deepen cooperation. As more renewable resources are introduced into the grid, both in Kosovo and in the region, this will become increasingly important," she said.
Rizvanolli concluded by emphasizing energy efficiency, as an often neglected area, but key to saving energy and improving economic performance.
“And last but not least, it is an area in the energy sector that, in my opinion, usually does not get the attention it deserves, especially in Kosovo, but not only here. It is usually more interesting and more attractive to talk about building new buildings than to focus on saving energy and ensuring that we use as little energy as possible to heat our homes, in industry or in transport. So, energy efficiency is a key pillar of our energy strategy, and this is particularly important for Kosovo, because we currently consume twice as much energy as the EU average for every unit of Gross Domestic Product that we produce. This is called energy intensity and it is twice as high as the EU average, which means that there is room for significant improvement, and that is why we have focused and will continue to focus on energy efficiency,” she said./EO/
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