Kosovo B power station

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Kosovo B power station is an operating power station of at least 680-megawatts (MW) in Obiliq, Kosovo, Kosovo. It is also known as Kosovo power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Kosovo B power station	Obiliq, Kosovo, Kosovo	42.69312, 21.056002 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2: 42.69312, 21.056002

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	operating	coal - lignite	340	subcritical	1983	–
Unit 2	operating	coal - lignite	340	subcritical	1984	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner
Unit 1	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC (KEK) [100.0%]
Unit 2	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC (KEK) [100.0%]

Background

The plant is a lignite-fired power station consisting of two units of 340 MW each, commissioned in 1983-1984. The units share a 183 metre tall chimney with 6.8 metre diameter at the top. The power plant is operated by Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK).

After conflict in Kosovo in the 1990s, the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) invited tenders for the rehabilitation of Kosovo power station unit B2. In June 2000, the contract was won by a consortium of RWE Power International.

The power plant produced 4.05 billion kWh of electricity in 2022, according to Kosovo Energy Corporation. Coal us supplied from the Sibovc Southwest coal mine.

Kosovo continues to breach the ceilings for all three pollutants (SO2, dust and NOX). Dust emissions have always been the country’s biggest problem, but in 2022 SO2 and NOX emissions also increased significantly compared to 2021, while dust ones stayed almost the same. Kosova B’s two units alone breached the national dust ceiling in 2022 by almost 4 times (3.9), releasing a total of 5,314 tonnes of dust into the atmosphere. Unit B1 alone emitted 6.75 times above its individual ceiling, making it the country’s worst emitter.

2023 Energy Strategy and Draft NECP

In March 2023, Kosovo's new energy strategy included plans to refurbish both units of Kosovo B power station, in addition to at least one unit of Kosovo A power station by 2024. The Energy Strategy 2022-2031 document published in early 2023 outlined that the plant will be refurbished to maintain the security of supply and decrease emissions. The refurbishment will be carried out in two stages, and by the end of 2025, and respectively 2026, both units will operate in a more efficient, reliable mode, meeting mandatory emission standards of the Industrial Emissions Directive. Another source reported that KEK intended to install a system for cutting nitrogen oxide emissions to levels that would comply with European regulations.

Kosovo presented their draft National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) in July 2023 and the Energy Community Secretariat provided its comments and recommendations in December 2023. The draft NECP mirrors the 2023 Energy Strategy and foresees the refurbishment of both Kosovo B units by 2025 and 2026, respectively. The plan includes reference to the Industrial Emissions Directive, but there are no details of how the existing plants will meet the Directive’s emission limit values from 1 January 2028. There are also no plans of how to achieve significant reductions on pollution from these plants under the Large Combustion Plants Directive, where Kosovo persistently fails to implement its National Emissions Reduction Plan (NERP).

The Energy Secretariat urges Kosovo to commit to phase out coal by 2050 in its final NECP.

Rolling Blackouts

In August 2022, Kosovo became the first European country to impose temporary grid disconnections on their customers since the war in Ukraine began causing energy security concerns globally. As units at both Kosovo A and Kosovo B power stations were offline for maintenance, output had been too low for the summer heatwave, and rolling blackouts were enforced. Initially, the country hoped to be bailed out by capacity support from neighbouring Albania. However, their hydropower-dominated system was also strained by prolonged drought in the Balkan region.

Articles and Resources

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.