The meeting with the topic “Utilization of Biomass for Energy Purposes – Experiences of Baden-Wurttemberg and Serbia” was opened by the Deputy Chairman of the Serbian Parliamentary Energy Policy Forum, Dr Branisalav Blazic who reminded the participants that the partnership between Serbia and the German province dates back to the realisation of the obligations from the Danube Strategy. The objective of the cooperation is, among other things, to promote the sustainable development of the biomass market realised via cross-border cooperation projects which contribute to a secure supply of energy and climate protection, said Blazic. He added that Serbia greatly benefits from Germany’s experience and transfer of knowledge necessary for the substitution of the energy from coal and heavy oil by the energy gained from biomass.

“The enormous amounts of underutilized biomass, high unemployment rates and limited access to EU funds for the development of renewable energy sources, open up a myriad of possibilities for cooperation between Serbia and the province of Baden-Wurttemberg. Cooperation on projects concerning the use of forest biomass for heat production in local thermal power plants in less developed areas of Serbia is especially important for Serbia, as is the cooperation in the sphere of energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and distance heating”, stressed Blazic.

He thanked GIZ, the German organization with whose support Serbia realizes the projects in the area, hoping that we will, in a couple of years, thanks to this cooperation be able to say that by the efficient, rational and sustainable use of resources at its disposal, Serbia has developed into a country with a strong and modern economy.

Gabriela Benemann, Head of the Economy Department of the German Embassy in Serbia, commended the idea to organize a gathering on alternative energy sources such as biomass and biofuel, considering that fossil fuel will not last forever and that the world must turn to other energy sources. Speaking about the cooperation between the province of Baden-Wurrtemberg and Serbia, Benemann said that it should help answer the question of how to transform sustainable resources into a new type of energy, especially in the matter of forests because there one should strike a balance between their use for the production of energy and conservation.

Jutta Lück of the Ministry for Environment, Climate and Energy of the province of Baden-Württemberg, spoke about the experiences of the German province, energy transition i.e. transition from fossil and nuclear energy sources to sustainable energy sources, cooperation between Serbia and Germany within the Danube Strategy and cooperation with the relevant Serbian ministry.

Aleksandar Vesic, Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, informed the participants of the meeting about Serbia’s renewable energy source potentials and the three pillars of energy partnership between Serbia and Baden-Wurttemberg – political dialogue, scientific and economic cooperation.

Conrad Raab of the Ministry for Environment, Climate and Energy of the province of Baden-Württemberg presented the German province’s experiences in the utilization of biomass for energy purposes, while Aleksandar Vasiljevic, executive of Public enterprise for forest management Srbijasume, Sector for Development and Strategic Planning, gave an overview of the potentials in Serbia for biomass utilization for energy purposes.

In the ensuing discussion the participants exchanged views on Serbia’s energy and environmental protection policies and strategies, development of the energy sector, energy conservation until 2050, budgetary funds allocated for energy production, forest management in Serbia, utilization of wood as biomass and its efficient use, household sources of biomass for the production of energy, energy and agriculture, infrastructural capacities of rural areas in light of biomass utilization, construction of biogas plants, forestation and drafting of a forest strategy.

Closing the meeting, the Deputy Chairman of the Serbian Parliamentary Energy Policy Forum Dr Branisalav Blazic thanked GIZ and the colleagues form the province of Baden-Wurttemberg whose experiences are vitally important for Serbia, hoping that, after today’s meeting, Serbia would know how to put them into practice.