Deputy Prime Minister Verica Kalanovic said in Kragujevac opening the conference on renewable energy and energy efficiency that Serbia has significant potentials in renewable energy sources.

Kalanovic commended the large number of municipalities and cities in Serbia with finished projects related to energy efficiency and renewable sources.

Realisation of projects in renewable energy and energy efficiency will be more efficient and less costly if done well, she said.

The Deputy Prime Minister warned that Serbia will have to import a significantly greater amount of energy for daily needs if we do not turn to alternative sources.

She added that non-renewable sources of energy, i.e., coal, oil and natural gas, in our country are modest.

She recalled that the Serbian government declared 2011 the year of energy efficiency and will subsidise renewable energy production, adding that our country has significant potential in terms of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropotential energy.

The conference gathered representatives from 23 municipalities that have prepared the necessary documentation for 43 projects, as well as representatives from the German KfW Development Bank, Banca Intesa and Volksbank, who will present loan and financing terms to project leaders.

Chairman of the Management Board of the Central European Development Forum (CEDEF) Jovanka Arsic-Karisic said that the total value of all projects exceeds €150 million, while individually they are worth from €70,000 to €90 million.

She explained that projects are diverse and refer to several areas of energy efficiency and renewable sources, such as mini-hydroelectric power plants, lights and geothermal springs, noting that their fate directly depends on agreements between investors and municipalities which prepared the projects.

The conference was organised by CEDEF in cooperation with SIEPA and the City of Kragujevac.

The gathering was attended by representatives of the EU and international investment funds, international financial institutions, foreign and domestic business associations and local self-governments.