Morava power station
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Morava power station is an operating power station of at least 120-megawatts (MW) in Svilajnac, Pomoravski, Serbia with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Morava power station | Svilajnac, Svilajnac, Pomoravski, Serbia | 44.223826, 21.163148 (exact)[1] |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- 1, Unit 1: 44.223826, 21.163148
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year | Emergency/Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cancelled[2][3][4] | fossil gas: natural gas[4] | 120[4] | combined cycle[4] | – | – | no |
| Unit 1 | Operating | coal: lignite[5] | 120 | subcritical | 1969 | 2030 (planned)[2][6][7] | no |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
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%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): domestic
Background
The one-unit coal plant began operating in 1969. The power station is owned and operated by Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), a government owned utility.[8]
In 2023, Morava power station produced 356 GWh of electricity,[9] and in 2024 it produced 276 GWh.[10]
Coal supply
Coal for the plant is supplied by an EPS subsidiary, MB Kolubara plc, which operates four coal mines -- the Polje B mine, the Polje D mine, the Tamnava Istok mine and the Tamnava Zapad mine.[11]
In early 2022, financial and energy security concerns prompted the announcement that four million tons of coal would need to be imported for Elektroprivreda Srbije's plants to operate. The coal system was facing instability throughout the region.[12]
Fatal Accident
In January 2022, a subcontractor was fatally injured while working at the plant's slag heap. According to reports, Elektroprivreda Srbije did not properly notify the community of the incident, and the police did not disclose the record.[13]
Proposed coal phase out
In December 2021, it was reported that state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) intended to convert its Morava thermal power plant from coal to fossil gas. Coal power plant Morava was expected to shut down by the end of 2023. It was operating under the opt-out mechanism, an implementation alternative under the EU’s Large Combustion Plants Directive (LCPD) which provides the possibility for an exemption of individual plants from national compliance regimes. In exchange, the plants cannot be operated for more than 20,000 operational hours between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2023.[14]
As of January 2024, there was no news on the gas conversion and it appeared that a Morava solar farm of 45 MW will be developed instead.[15] The expected deadline for the completion of documentation as well as obtaining the building permit for the solar plant was said to be the end of 2025.[16] As of May 2024, there was no news on the planned retirement of the coal unit by the end of 2024.
In July 2024, the Draft Energy Sector Development Strategy up to 2040 stated that by 2030, the Morava plant will be either shut down or put in reserve.[17][18] "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. Morava will be either decommissioned or put in state of reserve shutdown."[18] The final NECP adopted by Serbia in July 2024 still showed Morava plant with available capacity until 2030.[19]
In October 2024, Elektroprivreda Srbije launched a tender for project design for mothballing Morava plant and Kolubara A power station and submitting a request to determine the need for an assessment of the environmental impact of the suspension of the two facilities. According to the tender documentation, the units are to be put into a strategic reserve. They would be maintained in such a condition that would allow recommissioning in case of extraordinary circumstances in the power system. The units must cease operation because they have not met the emissions standard under the European Union’s Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD). The Morava plant would be considered for placement in cold reserve or decommissioning.[20] The exact timing to mothball the plant was not known. As of May 2025 and December 2025, there were no official updates on the mothballing plan.
In July 2025, Delta Engineering said it had started developing a conceptual project for conservation and an environmental impact assessment related to the closure of the Kolubara and Morava thermal power plants, in cooperation with EPS. The project included an analysis of the environmental condition of the sites, risk identification and proposals for mitigating negative impacts.[21]
In April 2026, eKapija reported that the Morava solar plant was planned to start operating in 2029.[22]
Unlawful Operation
Bankwatch report from June 2023 reported that by the end of 2022, Morava had operated for a total of 23 051 hours since 2018 and continued to operate to this day. A complaint by the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute and CEE Bankwatch Network challenging Serbia’s failure to comply with pollution control rules under the Energy Community Treaty was recorded by the the Energy Community Secretariat.[23]Earlier in February 2023 EPS stated that Morava plant will be shut down by the end of 2024.[24]
In October 2023, the Energy Community Secretariat initiated a dispute settlement procedure against Serbia over its refusal to close the Morava power station despite the expiry of its opt-out mechanism period.[25] June 2023 report on increasing pollution levels by Balkan coal plants highlighted that sulphur dioxide emissions from the Morava plant quadrupled in 2022.[26]
Serbia kept Morava power plant running for 3,867 hours in 2023, in breach of the ‘opt-out’ derogation.[27]
In June 2025, CEE Bankwatch Network reported that Serbia's plans for the closure of Morava and Kolubara A remained unclear and undermined the purpose of the Large Combustion Plants Directive, because Serbia's Energy Development Strategy until 2040 stated only that the plants would be closed “by 2030” for energy security reasons.[28]
Environmental issues and Just transition
In May 2025, Balkan Green Energy News reported that Serbia's draft just transition action plan estimated that if the Kolubara and Morava plants were closed, around 472 indirect jobs in the Kolubara region could be affected, mainly among subcontractors and companies in EPS's value chain.[29]
In 2024, Morava was reported to emit 10,372 tonnes of sulphur dioxide, almost 24 times the ceiling that would have applied if the plant had remained in operation for 1,500 hours per year under Article 33(3) of the Industrial Emissions Directive.[28]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ https://maps.app.goo.gl/c7PezdaG9zzqSsHWA.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220709033211/https://teitimes.com/post/eps-of-serbia-to-convert-morava-power-plant-from-coal-to-gas. Archived from the original on 2022-07-09.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Serbia's EPS to mothball Morava, Kolubara coal power plants for strategic reserve". Balkan Green Energy News. 2024-10-23. Archived from the original on 2025-03-18. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20221213142335/https://balkangreenenergynews.com/eps-to-convert-coal-fired-power-plant-morava-to-natural-gas/. Archived from the original on 2022-12-13.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.gem.wiki/Coal_source_methodology_for_the_Global_Coal_Plant_Tracker.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (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/20250821221437/https://balkangreenenergynews.com/serbia-publishes-draft-energy-sector-development-strategy-up-to-2040/. Archived from the original on 2025-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Serbia", Eurocoal, accessed July 2011
- ↑ "Serbia's EPS to mothball Morava, Kolubara coal power plants for strategic reserve". balkangreenenergynews.com. October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Electric Power Industry of Serbia Technical Report 2024, p. 5" (PDF). Elektroprivreda Srbije. 2024. Retrieved Dec 16, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "About Us: Basic Data: Economic Assosiation for Coal Production, processing and Transport MB Kolubara plc", Elektroprivreda Srbije website, accessed July 2011
- ↑ "Serbia: EPS must also import coal", Serbia Energy, May 22, 2022
- ↑ "Nasilna smrt radnika u TE „Morava“: Šta je razlog izostanka zvaničnog saopštenja?," Danas, February 3, 2022
- ↑ "EPS to convert coal-fired power plant Morava to natural gas," Balkan Green Energy News, December 13, 2021
- ↑ "Serbia's EPS gets EU grants for solar plant projects within coal complexes". balkangreenenergynews.com. December 2022.
{{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) - ↑ "Serbia publishes Draft Energy Sector Development Strategy up to 2040". balkangreenenergynews.com. July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 "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) - ↑ "INTEGRATED NATIONAL ENERGY AND CLIMATE PLAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA" (PDF). www.mre.gov.rs. August 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Serbia's EPS to mothball Morava, Kolubara coal power plants for strategic reserve". balkangreenenergynews.com. October 23, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Project Development for Closure of TE Kolubara and Morava". Delta Engineering. July 15, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Na mjestu pepelišta termoelektrana Kolubara A i Morava do 2029. niču solarne elektrane – Kraj korišćenja uglja u Srbiji?". eKapija. April 17, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Serbia: Complaints over illegal operation of Morava coal power plant". bankwatch.org. June 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "EPS sets out plan for shutting down coal power plants". balkangreenenergynews.com. February 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Energy Community opens case against Serbia for refusing to close TPP Morava," Balkan Green Energy News, October 24, 2023
- ↑ "Coal plants in Western Balkans increase pollution, legal breaches in 2022". /balkangreenenergynews.com. June 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Comply or Close - 2024 Update" (PDF). bankwatch.org. September 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 28.0 28.1 Ciuta, Ioana; Gallop, Pippa; Pehchevski, Davor (June 2025). "Seven years of deadly legal breaches by Western Balkan coal plants" (PDF). Comply or Close. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Spasić, Vladimir (May 30, 2025). "Serbia drafts just transition action plan". Balkan Green Energy News. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
