By forcing the gas interconnector with Greece, Macedonia could be stuck for more than 3 decades in a new dependence on fossil fuels and spend the money that could be invested in renewable energy sources, said the Center for environmental research and information Eko-Svest (Eco-Awareness) in a press release on Thursday.
“Abandoning coal and oil risks connecting to gas at a time when many EU countries are banning the installation of new connections due to environmental impact and when it is estimated that the price of this energy will only increase due to delivery risks and new rules of charging for carbon dioxide emissions of the European Union. The interconnector, which is supposed to bring gas from Greece, will direct the state to the complicated construction of a gas network in all municipalities, which will take a long time and, according to different scenarios, may cost between 240 and 745 million euros. This money can be more effectively directed towards the development of renewable energy sources and accelerating the penetration of existing efficient systems for cooking, water heating and households using combinations of solar panels and heat pumps” reads the press release.
