Kolubara A power station
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Kolubara A power station is an operating power station of at least 239-megawatts (MW) in Veliki Crljeni, Lazarevac, Beograd, Serbia with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Kolubara A power station | Veliki Crljeni, Lazarevac, Beograd, Serbia | 44.480312, 20.293538 (exact) |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5: 44.480312, 20.293538
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Operating | coal: lignite | 32 | subcritical | 1956 | 2030 (planned)[1][2] |
| Unit 2 | Operating | coal: lignite | 32 | subcritical | 1957 | 2030 (planned)[1][2] |
| Unit 3 | Operating[3][4] | coal: lignite | 65 | subcritical | 1961 | 2030 (planned)[1][2] |
| Unit 4 | Mothballed | coal: lignite | 32 | subcritical | 1961 | 2030 (planned)[1][2] |
| Unit 5 | Operating | coal: lignite | 110 | subcritical | 1979 | 2030 (planned)[3][1][2] |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100%] | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100%] | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100%] | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100%] | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100.0%] |
| Unit 5 | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100%] | Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Polje B mine, Polje D mine, Tamnava Istok mine, Tamnava Zapad mine
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
The power station is owned and operated by Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), a government-owned utility.[5]
It was put into operation in 1956 with two units of 32 MW each. In 1960, third unit was commissioned with 65 MW, and the following year, in 1961, another 32 MW unit was put into operation. In 1979, the fifth unit of 110 MW unit was commissioned and total installed capacity reached 271 MW.[6]
EPS's website and a media report from 2023 refer to the plant's capacity at 239 MW[7][8] , which is 32 MW lower than the original capacity of 271 MW. It appears that one of the 32 MW units was mothballed as EPS's website still refers to 5 units.[7]
Based on the company's technical reports, net capacity of the station decreased between 2014 and 2015 and remained at that level, as of 2022.[9][10] Unit 4 was presumed mothballed around this date based on these reports and earlier sources.[5] The draft Draft Energy Sector Development Strategy up to 2040 published in July 2024 referred to four remaining units at the plant.[11]
The plant produced 309 GWh in 2022[10], 225 GWh in 2023[12] and 304 GWh in 2024. [13]
Coal supply
Coal for the plant is supplied from Kolubara Mine Complex.
Through the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, Serbia faced issues with poor quality coal. Imported coal was necessary to keep the grid operating.[14]
Unlawful Operation
As per 'Comply and Close' updated report by Bankwatch from September 2024, by the end of 2023, Serbia had breached the opt-out derogation for two more units at the Kolubara A power plant. Units A3-1 and A3 3-5 both had just slightly more than 1,000 operating hours left at the end of 2022 and they both worked way beyond their lifetime in 2023, adding 3,215 hours and 2,829, respectively. Kolubara A5 did not use up all its 20,000 hours by the end of 2023 but was due to close anyway due to the expiry of the opt-out period.[15] In October 2023, the Ministry of Environmental Protection therefore informed the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the breaches and requested it to enforce the Energy Community Treaty.[15]
Proposed coal phase out
In 2021, state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) said that in line with the obligations set out in the Energy Community Treaty and in line with the National Emissions Reduction Plan (NERP), Kolubara A will terminate production after 2023. EPS announced a tender in May 2021 for a study on the construction of solar power plants on the ash dumps of Morava power station and Kolubara A power station.[16]
Reporting as of January 2022 cited the possibility of decommissioning the plant partially or fully in 2022 and 2023.[17]
Following the announcement of the power station's anticipated closure, mine and power plant workers protested the decision. Soon after, the Ministry of Mining and Energy stated that they would establish a commission for just transition that would develop a plan for thermal energy generation until 2050.[18]
As of January 2023, Elektroprivreda Srbije had plans to replace the power station with a 71 MW solar farm Kolubara A solar farm.[19][20]
In February 2023, EPS announced that Kolubara power station will be shut down by the end of 2024.[8] However, as of May 2024 there was no further news on the planned closure of the plant. The corporate newspaper of EPS from May 2024 referred to the repairs programs of the units during summer 2024 with no mention of the upcoming retirement.[21]
In March 2024, EPS announced a tender for the preparation of planning documents for the solar plant, the expected deadline for the completion of investment-technical and spatial-planning documentation, as well as obtaining a building permit, is the end of 2025.[22]
In July 2024, the Draft Energy Sector Development Strategy up to 2040 stated that the plant will be decommissioned by 2030.[23][11] "In the period until 2030, thermal power plants whose further operation would not be possible or justified will be decommissioned, taking into account the age of the machines and other techno-economic parameters. This applies for remaining four units in TPP Kolubara A.[11] The final NECP adopted by Serbia in July 2024 still showed capacities of Unit 3 and Unit 5 as being available until 2030.[24]
In October 2024, it was reported that EPS planned to mothball Kolubara A and the Morava power station and put them in strategic reserve. It would maintain them in operational condition until making the final decision on the purpose of the locations.[12] EPS launched a tender for project design for mothballing the plant and for determining the need for an assessment of the environmental impact of the suspension of the two facilities.[12] The timing for mothballing the plants was unknown. There was no further news on the planned mothballing, as of May 2025.
Draft NECP (2023) and Final NECP (2024): No New Coal
It was reported in April 2023 that Serbia was soon expected to officially announce its intention to phase out coal as soon as possible or by the end of 2050 at the latest. The obligations to decarbonize and shut down thermal power plants are part of a bill on the ratification of a contract on guarantees for the EUR 300 million loan that Elektroprivreda Srbije secured from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).[25]
In July 2023, Serbia’s draft National Energy and Climate Plan was on public consultation. As Bankwatch summarized, no new coal plants seemed to be planned after Kostolac B3, but there was no information about the phase-out timetable for existing plants.[26] In November 2023, Energy Community Secretariat released comments and recommendations on the draft NECP.[27] In July 2024, Serbia adopted the NECP and has aligned itself with Europe’s vision for the decarbonization of the energy sector.[28] In the same month, Serbia also released a draft Energy Sector Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia up to 2040 showing no plans to build new thermal power plants.[11][23]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240826034133/https://www.mre.gov.rs/extfile/sr/5928/Draft%2520-%2520Energy%2520Strategy%252015072024.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-08-26.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 https://balkangreenenergynews.com/serbia-publishes-draft-energy-sector-development-strategy-up-to-2040/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 (PDF) https://www.mre.gov.rs/extfile/sr/1139/INEKP_pre%C4%8Di%C5%A1%C4%87en_tekst_1.8.24_ENG.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240212214801/https://balkangreenenergynews.com/eps-sets-out-plan-for-shutting-down-coal-power-plants/. Archived from the original on 2024-02-12.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Elektroprivreda Srbije, "Facilities for electric power generation: Facilities for electric power generation: Thermal Power Plants Nikola Tesla - TPP "Kolubara" plc", Elektroprivreda Srbije website, accessed July 2011
- ↑ "Производни капацитети". www.eps.rs. unknown.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Thermal power plants". www.eps.rs. unknown.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 "EPS sets out plan for shutting down coal power plants". balkangreenenergynews.com. February 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Technical reports 2014 and 2015". www.eps.rs/. 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 "2022 Technical Report" (PDF). www.eps.rs. 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Energy Sector Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia up to 2040 with Projections up to 2050" (PDF). www.mre.gov.rs. July 2024.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 35 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Serbia's EPS to mothball Morava, Kolubara coal power plants for strategic reserve". balkangreenenergynews.com. October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ТЕХНИЧКИ ГОДИШЊАК 2024" (PDF). /www.eps.rs. 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "EPS će rekonstruisati TENT B2 tek 2025, a projekat za blokove A1 i A2 na ledu", Balkan Green Energy News, April 27, 2022
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Comply or Close - 2024 Update" (PDF). bankwatch.org. September 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "EPS to convert coal-fired power plant Morava to natural gas," Balkan Green Energy News, December 13, 2021
- ↑ "RERI – Razbijanje mita: hronologija upotrebe uglja u Srbiji," Energetski Portal, January 2, 2022
- ↑ "Srbija između izbacivanja uglja i protesta radnika," Radio Slobodna Evropa, May 26, 2021
- ↑ "Po zatvaranju termoelektrana Morava i Kolubara A, na njihovim pepelištima u planu izgradnja solarnih elektrana," eKapija, January 9, 2023
- ↑ "Serbia's EPS gets EU grants for solar plant projects within coal complexes". balkangreenenergynews.com. December 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "EPS - Energija EPS May 2024" (PDF). www.eps.rs. May 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Naručeni urbanistički projekti za gradnju solarnih elektrana Kolubara A i Morava - Građevinske dozvole krajem sledeće godine". www.ekapija.com. March 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Serbia publishes Draft Energy Sector Development Strategy up to 2040". balkangreenenergynews.com. July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "INTEGRATED NATIONAL ENERGY AND CLIMATE PLAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA" (PDF). www.mre.gov.rs. August 2024.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 44 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Serbia to officially commit to phasing out coal by 2050". balkangreenenergynews.com. April 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Serbia’s draft NECP: What is the actual plan?" Bankwatch, July 17, 2023
- ↑ "RECOMMENDATIONS 1/2023 by the Energy Community Secretariat on the Draft integrated National Energy and Climate Plan of the Republic of Serbia" (PDF). www.energy-community.org. November 2023.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 59 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Serbia adopts Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan until 2030". balkangreenenergynews.com. July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
