At the same time, the country is preparing strategic documents to support the decarbonization of the district heating sector.
Maja Vukadinović, acting Assistant Minister of Mining and Energy for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, has said that the goal for the district heating sector is to completely phase out fuel oil and coal by 2040.
She added that those fuels would be replaced with biomass, solar energy, and heat pumps in the production of thermal energy.
Just as the power sector relies heavily on the use of fossil fuels, so does the thermal energy sector – even to a greater extent, she recalled.
Natural gas will remain the dominant source of thermal energy
“Strategic documents envisage significant investments over the next 10-15 years with the aim of increasing the share of clean sources in the production of thermal energy, but also reducing network losses,” she said at the SEE Energy 2025 conference in Novi Sad, according to a statement from the Ministry of Mining and Energy.
Natural gas will remain the dominant source of thermal energy, as it is today, although its share is expected to decrease from 73% to 50% by 2040, according to Vukadinović.
She added that the Ministry of Mining and Energy is implementing or preparing several projects for the decarbonization of district heating.
Serbia is drafting a strategic plan for the district heating decarbonization policy
Serbia is also preparing a strategic plan for the district heating decarbonization policy, which is being drafted in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the business association of Serbian heating plants, Toplane Srbije.
The document, she explained, will outline steps to improve the district heating system, including the rollout of thermal energy storage, heat pumps, and heat production from waste, as well as the development of the country’s first district cooling systems.
Vukadinović emphasized that special focus will be placed on drafting guidelines to expand the district heating system by connecting new users, while simultaneously phasing out fossil fuel-fired boilers.
This will help reduce harmful gas emissions and achieve the country’s energy and climate goals, she stated.
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