6 Decades Research on Photovoltaic Technologies and Characterization in Republic of Serbia

It is known that solar photovoltaic devices age well, but the research in the durability and derating factor, important for their economy and energy rate of return, has not been done for the more than 35 year old devices. First silicon photovoltaic cells were produced in 1960’s in Republic of Serbia (former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) with 8% efficiency is still functional. These results were comparable to the state of the art efficiencies of that time. With new laboratory equipment available from recent, these cells produced in Republic of Serbia will be therefore characterized again to test if they satisfy the expected performance threshold from the existing literature. The effects of degradation will be explored and presented. The results of modern characterization of elder photovoltaic cells will be of significance for the further research on this topic in future

Ekonomski optimalna primena fotonaponskih elemenata u poljoprivredi: Nemačka i Srbija

Tematika primene fotonaponskih elemenata u poljoprivredi prvi put se spominje u istraživanjima u Nemačkoj 1982. godine, dok se na prostoru Srbije prvi radovi pojavljuju već 1986.godine. Ideja primeneje varirala od države do države sa vremenom i padom cena panela. Ujednom periodu dokje cena panela bila visoka akcenat je bio na optimalnom pozicioniranju panela na najboljim lokacijama, što je dovelo do konflikta sa poljoprivrednom proizvodnjom. Sa padom cene panela, i pojavom dvostranih panela otvaraju se mogućnosti za vertikalno pozicioniranje ali i povećanje razmaka između redova kako bi se poljoprivredna proizvodnja nesmetano obavljala. Poslednja istraživanja pokazuju da je na ovaj način moguće povećati i poljoprivrednu proizvodju i obezbediti dodatne količine električne energije za poljoprivredu. Dodatne količine energije za poljiprivredu mogu biti iskorišćene za produžavanje osvetljenosti biljaka, ali i ostale delatnosti navodnjavanje, grejanje, hlađenje, transport, proizvodnja organskog gnojiva itd. Stoga se odustalo od prvobitnih ideja, tj. umesto da se energija proizvodi na racun poljoprivrede, ideja je da se poveca proizvodnja na racun optimalnog iskoriscenja sunca. Ovoje od posebnog značaja u situaciji finansijskog pritiska na sektor poljoprivrede usled energetskih šokova (2021-2022. godine) koji su doveli do povećanja cene sirove nafte. Takođe očekuje se da troškovi ugljenično intenzivne poljoprivrede budu rasli uz primenu mera prekogranične kontrole i oporezivanja emisija. U radu će biti prikazano stanje u oblasti inovativne primene fotonaponskih elemenata u poljoprivredi kroz pregled najznačajnijih publikacija i predložiti najpodesniji koncept ekonomski optimalnog iskorišćenja sunčeve energije na studijama slučaja Nemačke i Srbije

Advantages of Sector Coupling to the Sustainable Energy Systems

After the EnergyPLAN and GenOpt have coupled together for the first time, a simulation based optimization has gained popularity in energy planning articles. The advantage of the coupling method is a synergy effect and integration of three different sectors e.g. heat, electricity and transport in comparison to a typical separated method. As a result, different technical measures cannot be applied separately for each individual sector without having impact on other coupled sectors. This impact can be demonstrated as a positive and negative cumulative effect. The cumulative effect from various technical measures applied within national energy system model may be observed only with annual simulations. Therefore, in this work this synergy effect will be explained in greater details for the first time. In this paper a parallel between individual and joined contribution of different policy goals of various technical measures applied to the national energy system model has been drawn. The conclusion aims to show the significance of sector coupling for sustainable energy planning

Da li nam treba više ambicije za tranziciju na obnovlјive izvore u Srbiji? Temelјi upravlјanja i planiranja energije

Obnovlјiva energija je predložena kao primarni pristup za dekarbonizaciju energetskog sistema i razdvajanje potrošnje energije od emisije gasova sa efektom staklene bašte, kako u energetskoj literaturi, tako i u praksi. Evropska unija je prepoznala izazov i postavila tranziciju na obnovlјive izvore energije visoko na dnevni red svojih politike, sa najnovijom ambicijom da do 2050. godine bude uglјenično-neutralna ekonomija. Sa druge strane, države Zapadnog Balkana i dalјe zavise od fosilnih goriva kao jednog od glavnih izvora u energetskom miksu. Ambicija za tranziciju na obnovlјive izvore energije u državama Zapadnog Balkana, uklјučujući i Srbiju, uglavnom je vođena težnjama ka njihovoj evropskoj budućnosti. Štaviše, potpisivanje Ugovora o Energetskoj zajednici pružilo je institucionalne i pravne alate kako ugovornim stranama, tako i Evropskoj uniji za izgradnju zajedničkog energetskog tržišta. Ovi procesi inspirisali su mnoge autore u poslednje dve decenije da analiziraju tehničke, ekonomske, tržišne i životno-sredinske aspekte obnovlјivih izvora, međutim, upravlјanje i planiranje, iako identifikovani kao izazovni, izostali iz detaljnije analize. Ovaj rad ima za cilј da prikaže pregled odabrane literature i zakonodavstva o tranziciji na obnovlјive izvore energije, kako bi se analizirala glavna pravna i politička postignuća, kao i ambicije za tranziciju u Srbiji. Takođe, u radu se raspravlјa o lekcijama naučenim iz relevantne literature kroz prizmu upravlјanja energijom i planiranja. Prvi deo rada daje pregled literature glavnih koncepata tranzicije na obnovlјive izvore energije. Istorijska analiza politika i prava obnovlјivih izvora energije u Evropskoj uniji, Energetskoj zajednici i Srbiji je u fokusu drugog dela. U poslednjem delu, rezimiraju se lekcije naučene iz literature za buduće upravlјanje i planiranje energije kroz perspektive procesa energetskog planiranja, evaluacije politika i obrazovanja i administrativnih kapaciteta. U zaključku se ističe važnost postojećih nalaza iz literature kao budućih koraka ka ubrzanom upravlјanju i planiranju energije.Renewable energy has been suggested as the primary approach for decarbonizing the energy system and decoupling energy consumption from greenhouse gas emissions, both in the energy literature and in practice. The European Union has acknowledged the challenge and put renewable energy transition high on the policy agenda with the latest ambition of being a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. On the other hand, Western Balkan countries are still dependent on fossil fuels as one of their primary energy mix sources. The pledge about the European future has mostly driven the renewable energy transition ambition in the Western Balkan countries, including Serbia. Moreover, signing the Energy Community Treaty provided institutional and legal tools to both Contracting Parties and the European Union to build the common energy market. These processes inspired many authors in the last two decades to analyse technical, economic, market and environmental aspects of renewables. However, the governance and planning, even though identified as challenging, have been side-lined from the analysis. This paper aims to overview the selected renewable energy transition literature and legislation to analyse the main legal and policy milestones reached so far, as well as ambition in Serbia. It also discusses the lessons learned from the related literature from energy governance and planning prism. To do so, it firstly provides a literature review of the main concepts of the renewable energy transition. Moreover, the historical analysis of renewable energy policy and legal developments in the European Union, the Energy Community and Serbia are in the second part's focus. Finally, the discussion part summarizes lessons learned from the literature for future energy governance and planning with the perspective of the energy planning process, policy evaluation, and education and administrative capacity. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of taking the current literature findings as prospective steps to follow towards accelerated energy governance and planning

National Energy and Climate Planning in Serbia: From Lagging Behind to an Ambitious EU Candidate?

Just in the immediate neighbourhood of the European Union (EU), the Republic of Serbia, one of the Western Balkan (WB) EU candidate countries, is lagging behind in the process of energy transition regardless of technological advances and policy instruments available. The EU created a momentum for energy transition acceleration with the European Green Deal, which has been forwarded to the WB through the Energy Community secretariat in the form of the Green Agenda; generally speaking, response in the form of National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) is expected in the short term. The Republic of Serbia’s Low Carbon Development Strategy with Action Plan (LCDSA) and the current Energy Strategy will be analysed, commented on, and improvements will be suggested for the acceleration of energy transition, based on the newest findings from the simulation-based optimization techniques using the sector coupling approach to achieve ambitious variable renewable energy shares. The motivation of this research is to provide decision makers in Serbia with the best available insights regarding sustainable energy system planning tools and possible shortcuts for delayed planning of activities. In addition, the purpose is to improve Serbia’s chance of benefitting from adoption of these strategies in the country’s faster transition towards EU membership. The research compares two scenarios to illustrate a possible policy shift from small hydro power plants to photovoltaics (PV). A further increase in PV and wind power plants has been simulated using the EnergyPLAN to achieve expected scenarios of 40% renewable energy share and some more ambitious ones—up to 80%, which is realistic only with the sector coupling approach

National energy and climate planning approach for the Western Balkans: case study Republic of Serbia

Just in the immediate neighborhood of European Union (EU), Western Balkan (WB) countries are lagging behind in the energy transition regardless technological advances and policy instruments available. EU recently created a momentum for the energy transition acceleration with the European Green Deal, which is forwarded to the WB through the Energy Community secretariat and in general, the response in the form of National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) is expected in the short to midterm. Recently presented the new Republic of Serbia’s Low Carbon Development Strategy with Action plan (LEDS) will be analyzed, commented and improvements suggested for the acceleration of the energy transition, based on the newest findings from the simulation-based optimization techniques using the sectors coupling approach. Furthermore, integrated assessment modeling (IAM) techniques, exploring the climate and energy cross impacts with the more details will be included. The purpose of the research is to provide the decision makers in the WB with the best available insights regarding sustainable energy systems, and citizens of the WB with better chance to benefit from adoption of these strategies in just transit ion

National energy and climate planning approach for the Western Balkans: newest achievements from Republic Of Serbia and Bosnia And Herzegovina

Just in the immediate neighborhood of European Union (EU), Western Balkan (WB) countries are lagging behind in the energy transition regardless technological advances and policy instruments available. EU recently created a momentum for the energy transition acceleration with the European Green Deal, which is forwarded to the WB through the Energy Community secretariat and in general, the response in the form of National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) is expected in the short to midterm. Recently presented the new Republic of Serbia’s Low Carbon Development Strategy with Action plan (LCDSA) will be analyzed, commented and improvements suggested for the acceleration of the energy transition, based on the newest findings from the simulation-based optimization techniques using the sectors coupling approach. Furthermore, integrated assessment modeling techniques (IAM), exploring the climate and energy cross impacts with the more details will be included. The purpose of the research is to provide the decision makers in the WB with the best available insights regarding sustainable energy systems, and citizens of the WB with to benefit from adoption of these strategies

The mitigation of the economic impacts from the fuel price shocks: Serbian case

The exposure to the risks of the crude oil price volatility for an net-importer country such as Serbia are neglected in its energy policy which has to be first and most important level of structural response to this inherent feature. The shocks in the past, and the current challenges, are not intended to be solved in long-term and sustainable way. The energy transition in Serbia have to be based on locally available and climate friendly energy sources, energy efficiency measures, new technologies, but not only in the area of fiscal policy and taxation of fuels. Having in mind the importance of fuels on the expense/revenue sides of the national budget, this paper will analyze two energy policy scenarios in two fuel price outlooks regarding impacts to the national budget, and further economic development. The economic impacts of the fuel prices volatility will be quantified: by sector of the transport for agriculture, commercial and household sectors, to determine their vulnerability to the shocks. The elasticity of the sectors to respond to these impacts will be qualified. Then, the possible pathways of an economically, and socio-environmental effective distribution of the impacts within these sectors will be suggested to the decision makers. Finally, the potential of long term mitigation of these impacts by the terms of an energy climate policy and energy transition scenarios will be discussed

Planning of the high share of renewable sources within the Republic of Serbia Energy System: from 21.7 zo 40% - Can we reach 100%?

Planning of energy systems in Serbia has long tradition and has been regularly performed for more than 60 years. Higher shares of renewable sources have been included just recently. The costs of such insufficiently planned energy future have been seen through the significant devastation of the environment and negative economic consequences of the locking into the electricity production from lignite. The draft of the National Energy and Climate Plan for Serbia, expected in the early September, could be the first in the history official document with ambition to reach higher shares of renewable sources in energy system (up to 40%) and the first step towards decarbonisation, and way forward to open negotiation with EU regarding energy sector. The first steps could be switching from small hydro to small PV systems all across the countries households, additional wind production, usage of large hydro potential, but it must be achieved through sectors coupling approach. In order to rich 80% renewable energy system and decarbonize to 25% of current level, the 30 GW of PV and 10 GW of wind have to be integrated through flexibilization of demand, flexible power plants and pumped hydro plants, heat pumps in the district heating, electrification of the transport, increase of the interconnection, and use of hydrogen in industry, transport and heating as well as firing biomass instead of lignite. The 100% renewable energy system for Serbia with ambition of Denmark or Spain is feasible, due to resource availability, energy efficiency measures, and moderate increase in consumption contrary to leading industry nations of G8 and Chin

Agro-photovoltaic systems as a synergy of agricultural and electricity production

Imajući u vidu pogoršavanje uslova za poljoprivrednu proizvodnju usled klimatskih promena, manifestovano kroz porast prosečnih temperatura, oskudicu vode i ekstremne vremenske prilike, sve je više činilaca koji opravdavaju primenu agrofotonaponskih (APV) ili ’’agrivoltaic’’ sistema, uz već iskazanu zainteresovanost da se oni postave i u Srbiji. APV sistemi omogućavaju inovativno, efikasno i isplativo rešenje za istovremeno odvijanje održive poljoprivredne proizvodnje i proizvodnje obnovljive energije. Ovi sistemi povećavaju iskorišćenje zemljišta, sinergijom poljoprivredne infrastrukture sa fotonaponskom, što ruralne zajednice čini konkurentnijim i održivijim. Na ovaj način farmeri imaju priliku da razviju nov izvor prihoda bez napuštanja poljoprivredne proizvodnje. Instalisani direktno iznad poljoprivrednih kultura, solarni paneli štite biljke od prekomerne osunčanosti, toplote, održavaju vlažnost zemljišta, štite od grada i mraza, omogućavaju stabilan prinos uz istovremenu proizvodnju električne energije koja se može iskoristiti za dodatno poboljšanje poljoprivredne proizvodnje. Benefiti koje pruža primena agrivoltaic sistema se mogu povećati zahvaljujući digitalnim rešenjima koja se prilagođavaju potrebama useva optimizovanjem nivoa senčenja ili vlažnosti zemljišta u odnosu na proizvodnju električne energije. Solarna energija se može iskoristiti za pogon pumpi za navodnjavanje zamenjujući dizel generatore, kao i za procese prerade poljoprivrednih proizvoda, odnosno napajanje opreme i voznog parka na imanjima. Individualni poljoprivredni proizvođači kao i zadruge mogu imati koristi od primene ovih sistema s obzirom da dosadašnja iskustva govore o povećanju prihoda farmi od preko 30%. Tehnička i ekonomska izvodljivost agrivoltaic projekata je dokazana u mnogim zemljama, a nedostatak odgovarajućeg regulatornog okvira je verovatno najveća prepreka za iskoristivost njihovih potencijala. Investicije u ove projekte su veće u poređenju sa konvencionalnim fotonaponskom sistemima postavljenim na zemlji, pa je u ovom momentu potrebno osmisliti i primeniti određene mere podrške do postizanja pozitivnih ekonomskih efekata u Republici Srbiji (AP Vojvodini). Pored tehničkih, ekonomskih i ekoloških aspekata agrivoltaic projekata, rano uključivanje različitih učesnika u razvoju projekata, kao i lokalnog stanovništva, je ključni kriterijum za njihov uspeh. Uzimajući u obzir klimatske prilike na području Srbije (AP Vojvodine), kao i kulture koje se uzgajaju, potrebno je ispitati mogućnost primene ovih sistema prvenstveno kod povrtarskih i voćarskih kultura. Ukoliko postoji dovoljno indicija za uspešnost ovakvih projekata, preporučljivo je da se predloži jedan konkretan projekat čija bi realizacija bila dobar pokazatelj za buduće projekte ovog tipa.Having in mind the deteriorating conditions for agricultural production due to climate change, which is reflected in rising average temperatures, water scarcity and extreme weather conditions, there are more and more factors that justify the use of agro-photovoltaic (APV) or ‘’agrivoltaic’’systems, with the already expressed interest in installing them in Serbia as well. APV systems offer an innovative, efficient and cost-effective solution for the simultaneous development of sustainable agricultural production and renewable energy production. These systems increase land use by synergizing agricultural infrastructure with photovoltaics, making rural communities more competitive and sustainable. In this way, farmers have the opportunity to develop a new source of income without leaving agricultural production. Installed directly above agricultural crops, solar panels protect plants from excessive sunlight, heat, maintain soil moisture, protect from hail and frost, enabling a stable yield with the simultaneous production of electricity that can be used to further improve agricultural production. The benefits of using an APV system can be increased thanks to digital solutions being adapted to crop needs by optimizing the level of shading or soil moisture in relation to electricity production. Solar energy can be used to drive irrigation pumps, thus replacing diesel generators, as well as for the purpose of processing agricultural products and powering equipment and rolling stock on farms. Individual farmers as well as cooperatives can benefit from the application of these systems, given that the experience so far shows an increase in farm income of over 30%. The technical and economic feasibility of APV projects has been proven in many countries, and the lack of an appropriate regulatory framework is probably the biggest obstacle for their potential to be realized. Investments in these projects are higher compared to conventional photovoltaic systems installed on the ground so, at this moment, it is necessary to design and implement certain support measures to achieve positive economic effects in the Republic of Serbia (AP Vojvodina). In the case that there are enough indications for the success of these projects, it is advisable to propose one specific project whose implementation would be a good indicator for future projects of this type