When a few days ago the electricity went out for a couple of hours or a few hours in a larger part of the region commonly called the Western Balkans, it made possible at least two collective realizations. Well, for whom they were completely unpleasant, and for whom they were partially comforting. The fact that Dalmatia, a large part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and part of Albania were disconnected at the same time, due to a failure of a power line in the center of that entire area, said something about the real integration of these regions. At least the infrastructural one, but it also brings a kind of interdependence of the respective countries. By the way, it is usually claimed, at least in Croatia, that such a connection has not existed for over three decades.
But large systems, such as of electric power, it was realized on this occasion, are much larger than the so-called atomized remains of the former SFR Yugoslavia. By the way, it is no coincidence that Albania was once included in the long-ago plans for the (re)constitution of that country.
Electric energy interdependence
If we need to clarify, then: it is impossible to have a separate, separate, intact, independent power system - production and distribution - for such small countries. It doesn't help that they are, each and every one of them, convinced that they are totally independent creations. This dependence is normal, one would say, although there is talk about power interdependence, not only about the need for oil from Russia, however, it prefers to remain silent until some substantial regional fuse fails, and if possible beyond that. For example, the unprincipled and multiple harmful relationship between the Croatian Electric Industry and the Republika Srpska Electric Industry was rarely discussed publicly.
Therefore, we realized for a moment that the South was not completely physically torn apart, that there were some cables that still connected it. Secondly, we remembered that there is not enough electricity, not as much as we need, and we realized that the intermezzo since the collapse of the former common state was not used for the progress of the now separate electricity companies.
Well, let's look back at Croatia, where there is an exemplary overview of the situation in this sector, symptomatic of the entire region. From the despised Yugoslavia, in terms of electric power, this republic came out crowned with such a series of hydropower plants that decades later even the EU could not deny it, while the criteria for achieving a higher share of electricity produced from renewable sources were being drawn up. At the start, Croatia had more than planned for the first and second hand, because hydropower is considered renewable. This time we will ignore the speculative nature of that classification, and it is known that damming rivers today is not considered environmentally acceptable.
However, Croatia's needs for electricity, as well as those of the entire world, were growing rapidly, although in the meantime not enough has been done here in the development of new sources and new terawatt hours of energy. Not that exploitation was not improved, but even that the existing distribution network within the country and towards neighboring countries was not maintained.
Pollution quota
This was also shown in the example from the beginning of this text, and the peak of the summer energy trial is just ahead of us. It differs from the winter one, to put it extremely simply, in that we now consume more electricity in total for cooling, and in winter more gas for heating. Also overall, although the already mentioned Dalmatia was shamelessly neglected in gasification - there was no time, due to different plans with INA and, finally, with HEP. We will skip the broader reminder of the fate of those two main energy strongholds of Croatia, robbed and neglected. Apart from the fact that no gas has reached the south today, the solar energy potential of the area has also been neglected.
This brings us to a strategic rethinking of energy in this country whose people are denied, among others, energy democratization in the sense of the so-called civil production. Furthermore, in the direction of the networking of households with solar panels, many of which would produce a surplus free for distribution.
There are no energy cooperatives either, only one or two. All the same, Croatia can boast of something significantly different, in the context of the aforementioned EU, and to see how it looks in comparison with the Yugoslav practice, in terms of development and production. In the past three and a half years, Croatia received 210 million euros from the EU's Modernization Fund, for renewable-source modernization investments in energy, infrastructure, etc. This is normally shared among EU member states whose GDP is less than 60 percent of the EU average. So, not according to what is the share of renewable sources in energy.
And that Modernization Fund itself is actually the body of the Directive on greenhouse gas emissions trading. You already know what happens when a less developed country fails to fill its certain quota of emissions of pollution of the planet, and a stronger one needs even more than the given measure, because it is bursting industrially.
Since exceeding the permitted pollution is rigorously financially penalized, it was logical to monetize it, put it on the market. Let's speculate: use the Modernization Fund for renewable trading capacity of underdeveloped countries on the greenhouse gas emissions exchange. That ability is restored by keeping those states in their underdevelopment. The less they produce in general, and the higher the share of renewable sources, the team will be able to release more of their emission quota for the market. The plan fits perfectly with Croatia's intended role as a world tourist resort.
And so, at home, the value in energy production went to private investors in wind farms, with a guaranteed market and preferential price for this green energy. Globally, profits remain the dominant industries and centers of capital. But at least the electricity does not go out in the region.
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