Skopje, 11 June 2024 (MIA) - At the 7th Macedonian Energy Forum (MEF) on Tuesday, PM-designate Hristijan Mickoski announced a new wind park between Karabinci, Shtip, and Radovish for the production of electricity, as one of the first foreign investments of the new government.

The new investment is predicted to produce close to 1 Terawatt per hour of electricity, or 1 million Megawatt Hours, or make up 20 percent of the country's total electricity production, he said.

At the opening of the first panel discussion entitled “Between Energy Security and Energy Transition: How to Support the Green Energy Transition While Taking Care of Energy Security,” Mickoski discussed several issues related to the country's energy transition. He said that with a good plan and supervision of capacities the process can be successfully implemented, although, he noted, the country's electricity and energy sector is underdeveloped, and more time will be needed.

"When it comes to energy transition we should take into consideration that the process is very complex and expensive. When talking about the social influence of the energy transition, I talk about the future of the people involved in the production of the manufacturing capacities that use coal, the same ones producing electricity. We should not forget that more than 4,000 households currently depend on electricity production from the thermal power stations in Bitola and Oslomej," said Mickoski. 

According to him, it is easier to discuss energy transition, than to discuss human lives. 

"If those production capacities close, first we will lose our primary production which is very important for our system, and we will face the same risk from a few years ago, as demand continues to grow. We need stable and sustainable electricity production if we want our economy to grow, otherwise, we will only regress and experience brain drain as we do now, 8 out of 10 of my students emigrate because they do not see a future here, so this is a huge challenge for us as a government to realize something tangible," Mickoski stressed. 

He added that this procedure can be done with a good plan and supervision of the energy capacities.

"As an electricity and energy sector, we are not prepared, but with a good plan and supervision of the electricity and energy capacities this procedure can be completed successfully, but it will take time. That is why we need to keep reality in mind and work based on precise plans and specific benchmarks," Mickoski said.

The PM-designate underlined that the focus should be on electricity production from renewable sources.

"Electricity production from renewable sources should be our focus, but it should be done step-by-step, because quick results are impossible. It takes time, and we have to keep that in mind, otherwise, we won't succeed," Mickoski said.

He reiterated that there can be no development without the rule of law. ssh/nn/

Photo: VMRO-DPMNE