The production of energy from renewable sources once seemed miles away, and today it is another obligation that Bosnia and Herzegovina must work on with dedication. And much faster than it has been so far. Our country has committed through several signatures to put this issue in the focus of work, but so far, we have mostly only lagged behind. A recently adopted set of energy laws could finally unlock the entire process. An additional incentive is the funds from European funds that would become available to us.
Intricate and slow procedures, vague jurisdictions and bureaucracy greatly hampered this process and made it difficult for investors to do business. The new laws could improve the situation, but only if they are consistently and fully applied in practice.
"Extremely complicated procedures that take, if not a year, maybe even years - in this way they will be skipped and thrown out. However, we will see if some new hidden procedures appear and take away unnecessary time like these now," says Almir Mujakovic, president of the Green Energy Association.
By signing the Sofia Declaration, the countries of the region, including BiH, have supported the so-called "Sofia Declaration". A green agenda for the Western Balkans. Minister of Energy mining and industry of FBiH Vedran Lakić (SDP BiH) recalls that it is foreseen by the European Green Deal, by which we have committed ourselves, together with the EU, to work towards the goal of making Europe a climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Legal solutions without technical assumptions alone will not improve the situation. The current network capacity of 2,000 MWh hours in the field of wind farms and as many solar, warns the profession, could greatly jeopardize the entire project.
"The limiting factor is the construction of the transmission and distribution network in a way that provides equal access to the network to all potential investors", explains Edhem Bičakčić, director of Bičakčić d.o.o.
The legislation is expected to provide support for investments that are currently lacking.
"We expect that this legislation will finally provide access to European funds. Investors in our country have only commercial arrangements of banks," Bičakčić adds.
EU funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy can currently be counted on by citizens and companies installing self-consumption plants. One of them, meeting the rigorous criteria, with the financial support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, installed a 600-kW solar power plant.
"With this installed solar power plant, that's about 30 percent of total consumption. The main benefit for the environment, for the community, is the reduction of approximately 600 tons of CO2 per year," said Adnan Lihić, representative of Interprocess Tešanj.
Investors note that even so far, the dam to the faster implementation of these projects was not so much the laws themselves - as bureaucratic procedures and unclear jurisdictions.
"So, there will probably be a delay in implementation again," Lihić warns.
Given that the interest of investors exceeds the total capacity of our country in this sector, they appeal that, along with the recently adopted set of energy laws, work on the efficiency of electric utilities, line ministries, regulators, operators and all who are still for a large number of potential investors an insurmountable bureaucratic obstacle.