What We Do
E3 International (E3I) and its consortium partners in the Sustainable Land, Livelihoods, and Energy Initiative Serbia (SLLEI) are innovative champions for sustainable energy and resilient nature-based solutions at scale to achieve UN SDG, Paris Climate, and Republic of Serbia clean energy transition goals--including equitable new jobs and rural economic growth and improved air quality and health for its citizens.
Serbian energy – heat and electricity – is primarily provided by fossil fuels, including coal, fuel oil and natural gas. Even though Serbia has ample solar PV, wind, and geothermal resources, renewable energy production and utilization is low. There is growing use of local wood biomass from forests for co-generation and for residential heating (for 1 million people), which is unsustainable. Serbia experiences very severe air quality degradation and negative health effects due to the combustion of fossil fuels, especially coal lignite, the lowest grade of coal, as well as due to household combustion.
The current accelerating use of forest/wood resources in Serbia is not sustainable, and available resources will not support plans to increase pellet production, heat and power (co-generation), and other industrial uses. Given irregular forest harvesting standards and enforcement, it is nearly impossible to secure long-term commercial contracts to procure forest wood biomass and certainly not to certify the quality of that wood biomass. Shortages and spikes in the forest wood biomass market make business planning very challenging and exacerbate inequities for vulnerable populations.
Meanwhile, Serbia has 1.6M hectares (per UNDP in 2016) of abandoned and degraded agricultural land which is no longer suitable for food production but that can be used for growing short rotation (--fast-growing for harvest in 3 years v. 20 years--) woody biomass on plantations--SRPs. This degraded land availability is due to insufficient economic investment over many years, outward migration patterns from rural to urban areas (especially of young people), and an aging population.. Of those residents who remain in rural areas, many are unemployed or under-employed. Ninety-two per cent of Serbia’s farms are comprised of less than 10 hectares, with women managing only 17% of the farms. Many of Serbia’s farmers are struggling to make ends meet. And other sectors are facing the need for just clean energy transition jobs as well.
SRPs, which are harvested in winter, could provide a complementary solution for the underemployed farmers, providing a new source of revenues. The quality biomass from SRPs can be harvested with currently used farm equipment, with an attachment which creates chips, which can be then transported locally for drying and storage under cover prior to sale.
Serbia has made SDG and Paris commitments and is pursuing EU Accession requirements. While fossil fuels (coal, fuel oil, and natural gas) are currently the main fuel sources, there is a growing trend to consider woody and reedy biomass, along with agricultural waste, as replacement fuels given cost and environmental considerations. Co-firing (up to 20%) biomass with coal by Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), the Serbian electric company, in existing boilers to produce electricity can have immediate positive impacts on air quality. Introducing boilers with better efficiency will increase this impact. District heating companies (DHCs) can also be significant off takers of woody biomass.