Kosovo A power station

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Kosovo A power station is an operating power station of at least 610-megawatts (MW) in Obiliq, Kosovo, Kosovo with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Kosovo power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Kosovo A power station	Obiliq, Kosovo, Kosovo	42.676454, 21.085922 (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, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5: 42.676454, 21.085922

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	retired	coal: lignite	65	subcritical	1962	2006
Unit 2	retired	coal: lignite	125	subcritical	1965	2010
Unit 3	operating	coal: lignite	200	subcritical	1970	–
Unit 4	operating	coal: lignite	200	subcritical	1971	2031 (planned)
Unit 5	operating	coal: lignite	210	subcritical	1975	2025 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100%]	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100.0%]
Unit 2	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100%]	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100.0%]
Unit 3	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100%]	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100.0%]
Unit 4	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100%]	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100.0%]
Unit 5	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100%]	Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC [100.0%]

Background

The plant consisted of five units built in 1962 and 1975. The first two units have been retired, leaving only three units of about 200 MW each. It is owned and operated by state-owned Korporata Energjetike e Kosovës JSC (Kosovo Energy Corporation, KEK). Coal is supplied from the Sibovc Southwest coal mine.

The power plant produced 2.3 billion kWh of electricity in 2022, according to Kosovo Energy Corporation.

In April 2023, it was reported that the CEO of KEK was arrested on charges of abuse of power, influence peddling, and conflict of interest. Local media outlets reported that the CEO’s arrest was related to contracts issued as part of a project to refurbish the 200 MW Unit 5 at the power station. The unit had been offline for ten months, and after an unsuccessful tender process, a contract was entered into for urgent repair work without a public procurement process. In May 2023, Unit 5 resumed operations after being idle for nearly a year when it was shut down for regular maintenance.

Kosovo continues to breach the ceilings for all three pollutants, by a large margin. Dust emissions have always been the biggest problem, but in 2022 SO2 and NOX emissions also increased significantly compared to 2021, while dust ones stayed almost the same. Dust pollution was 4.3 times above the national level ceiling set out in Annex 275 of the NERP, at 5,867 tonnes. This was slightly less than 2021 emissions, but equal to 2020.

In 2023, about 2.29 million MWg were produced at Kosovo A power station.

2023 Energy Strategy

In March 2023, Kosovo's new energy strategy until 2031 included plans to refurbish at least one unit of Kosovo A power station by 2024, in addition to both units of Kosovo B power station.

The Energy Strategy 2022-2031 document outlined that one of Kosovo A units will be refurbished by the end of 2024, while the decision to refurbish or phase out the second unit will be made in 2024 at the latest. The refurbished unit(s) would operate in a strategic reserve mode from 2028, meaning these unit(s) would be available in the crucial higher demand heating season, or during extraordinary occasions such as the recent energy crisis. The third operating A unit will be permanently closed once the refurbishment of the other lignite unit(s) is complete.

Another source referred to the plan to refurbish the Kosovo A plant as controversial as the World Bank and the European Commission have long been urging for it to be closed. Bankwatch report dated June 2023 also highlighted the problem with the plan as the age of these units is over 50 years and that the end of 2024 will be impossible to meet. Additionally, the estimated cost of the required investment at Kosova A is EUR 120 million per unit and it not clear how Kosovo could secure this funding.

Draft NECP 2023

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 at least one unit in TPP Kosovo A with increased net capacity. The refurbishment aims to serve energy security objectives, with putting the said units into strategic reserve from 2028 (although the Secretariat noted that the strategic reserve should only be used as a resort measure). The Secretariat highlights that it would be important to indicate the results of a cost-benefit analysis that was carried out to underpin such a policy decision, including the benefits and costs of alternative energy security solutions.

Furthermore, is not clear how many or whether any units of TPP Kosovo A would remain operational after 2031. The draft NECP foresees the closure of the third unit after the rehabilitation of one or two other units (ie from 2025), and another part of the NECP of outlines the decommissioning of one of the units with a net installed capacity of 116 MW by 2031. This would mean that a refurbished unit is closed down and the EUR 120 mln investment cost of the rehabilitation is to be written off by 2031. It would be important to clearly present the anticipated benefits and the costs of alternative energy security solutions, which could yield the same level of energy security.

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

As of May 2024, there was no further news on the refurbishment of the units. The final NECP has to be presented by June 30, 2024.

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.

In September 2022, electricity production in the Balkans continued to be strained by very limited coal supplies and depleted hydropower reservoirs. Coal unit failures at the Kosovo A power station and the Pljevlja Power Station highlighted that energy security and reliability may be a serious concern for Winter 2022/23.

June 2014 explosion

On Friday June 6 an explosion ripped through part of the plant killing two workers and injuring thirteen. (One news report -- citing Derat Rukiqi, the chairman of plant's management board -- put the death toll at three while other early local news reports stated the death toll was four.)

A Kosovo Energy Corporation media release stated that there had been two fatalities with a third missing worker found alive. A plant worker, who was outside the plant at the time of the explosion, that "there was a huge fire that broke out after the explosion. Panic broke out. We started to run as no-one knew what was going on." (A short video clip of smoke billowing from the plant is available here).

It was reported that the origin of the explosion was a hydrogen tank in the electrolysis unit. As a result of the disaster the plant has been shut down for an unspecified time. In response to the shut down the Kosovo's energy distribution and supply company, KEDS, stated that it would import 250 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity to cover demand.

In a statement after the disaster, the Kosovo Civil Society Consortium for Sustainable Development called on:

"the authorities to light the truth about this incident. KOSID also calls KEK to take immediate measures to increase safety at work, taking into account the high number of workers who have lost their lives in their workplace in this corporation since the end of the war in Kosovo. Explosions like this today should be avoided regardless of the cost."

"The extraordinary risk for employees of this corporation is stated several times by both international institutions and domestic ones. A study by the European Commission on decommissioning the power plant “Kosova A” published in March 2010, had highlighted the high health and safety risks for the operators and for the maintenance workers due to breakdown of plant systems and structures, neglected maintenance and poor housekeeping. We call on the authorities to take stringent security measures to avoid any other possible disaster. For the safety of workers, no compromise should be made."

Solar project at coal ash dump site

In March 2024, the European Investment Bank agreed to provide a €33 million (US$36 million) loan to Kosovo Energy Corporation for a 120 MW solar project on the former coal ash dump at the Kosovo A power station.

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.