Minister of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic stressed Wednesday that with the adoption of a new law on energy, serious investment in renewable energy sources in Serbia will begin.

Addressing a “Possibilities for Energy Business in the Balkan Region” conference, Dulic said that by the end of this government’s mandate, around 10,000 people are to be employed in Serbia’s green economy, which includes the recycling industry and harvesting energy from renewable sources.

Serbia’s potential in renewable energy sources equals 4.1 million tons of oil and if we manage to use these resources rationally and attract investors to invest in this sector, Serbia could completely phase out the import of energy sources, the Minister outlined.

He announced that during the year, his Ministry will launch several pilot projects to insulate state-owned buildings, adding that these projects could later be applied to other facilities in Serbia.

Investments in these projects would pay off within a few years already because they would contribute to energy savings in these facilities, Dulic added.

He said that the Fund for Environmental Protection will launch a new project of incentives for electricity production and pallets from biomass.

The Minister recalled that the Decree for encouraging production of electricity from renewable sources is in force in Serbia, which guarantees to investors the purchase of electricity in next 12 years from the implementation of projects.

Dulic underlined that the relevant ministry passed appropriate regulations on energy efficiency of buildings - it defined the procedure for obtaining energy passports of facilities and it is working on drafting regulations for the use of waste for energy purposes, which will have multiple benefits and contribute to environmental protection.

Serbian Minister of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic stated also that the ministry opposes any consideration of constructing nuclear power plants in Serbia until all available renewable energy sources are used up.

A moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants is in force in Serbia until 2015, and the country expressed its interest in taking part in the construction of the Bulgarian nuclear plant Belena.

It was stated in Bulgaria on Tuesday that the realization of the Belena nuclear project has been frozen for three months due to security concerns, which intensified after the nuclear crisis in Japan.