Coal Power Plants

The WB6 countries are heavily reliant on solid fossil fuels, particularly lignite and sub-bituminous coal for electricity generation. In 2016 there was a total of 8,191 MW of installed thermo-electric generation capacity. The largest producers of energy from coal were Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro. The newest addition to the WB6 coal power plants is the TE Stanari power plant with an installed 300 MW of power, put into operation in 2016. There are at least more than a dozen coal power plants planned to be constructed, particularly in Bosnia and Herzergovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia. The biggest coal power plants are located in Serbia, Nikola Tesla A – 1745 MW, Nikola Tesla B – 1290 MW, Tuzla 715 MW, Kostolac B 697 MW, Bitola 675 MW, Kosovo B 528 MW. One of the reasons why coal power plants are being planned and built is that the carbon tax has not yet been implemented, but as the region is integrating into the European Union it will be pressured to pay the tax, which might effectively put out of operation many coal power plants. The majority of these power plants fail to meet the European emission standards and criteria, they are also very environmentally polluting, with high health costs, particularly due to the old technology used in production.