Energy advisor to the Serbian prime minister Petar Skundric announced on Friday that around 10.000 people could directly get jobs in the renewable energy sector over the next five to six years if Serbia manages to realise around 60 per cent of projects out of the total number of energy permits issued for construction of renewable energy sources.

During a conference on renewable energy sources at the Belgrade Fair, Skundric said that tens of thousands more people could indirectly be employed in the sector.

Skundric said that local and foreign investors demonstrated great interest in renewable energy sources in Serbia over the past few months, and announced that a new decree on incentives for electricity production using renewable energy sources should soon be adopted.

He announced that the incentive quota for electricity production using solar energy would be upped from 5 to 50 megawatts, while those for electricity production from wind energy would be increased from 450 to around 600 megawatts.

Serbia could export the electricity produced by means of renewable sources to foreign markets and thus make high revenues, Skundric said.

He noted that construction of 10 hydropower plants in cooperation with a partner from Italy should start as of 2012, and recalled that the total value of the project adds up to around EUR 330 million.