Construction of Power Plants and Electricity/Heat Generation from Biomass in Serbia - Power Plant Construction

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Sources of Law

Regulations on construction of power plants using renewable sources of energy, which use biomass/biogas as fuel, can be classified in three main groups: the regulations governing the area of planning and construction of facilities, the regulations governing the area of environmental protection, and the regulations governing the area of the energy sector.

The group of the regulations governing the area of planning and construction of facilities includes: the Law on Planning and Construction, the Law on Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia, the Rulebook on Contents of Information on Location and Contents of Location Permit, the Rulebook on Contents and Procedure of Issuing Construction permits, the Rulebook on Contents and Method of Carrying Out Technical Inspection of Structures and
Issuing Operating Permit, the Rulebook on Contents, Scope, and Method of Preparing the Preliminary Feasibility Study and Feasibility Study for Construction of Structures.

Spatial plans (regional spatial plans, spatial plans of the units of local self-government, and spatial plans of areas for special use) and urban development plans (the urban master plan, general regulating plan, detailed regulating plan) are planning documents. The regulations governing the area of construction prescribe the procedure for obtaining the location permit, the Construction Permit, and the operating permit while planning documents define the objectives of spatial planning and development, i.e. of spatial development, i.e. whether it has been planned to construct a certain structure at a certain place in the Republic of Serbia within a certain time period. The necessary element in order to obtain the above permits is obtaining the technical requirements for connection to the electricity grid or to a district heating network, as well as the water requirements, the water approval and, in certain cases, the water permit as well, which are issued in the
procedure stipulated in the Law on Waters and the regulations adopted under this Law.

The group of regulations governing the area of environmental protection includes: the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Waters, the Law on Forests, the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, the Law on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, the Law on Air Protection, executive regulations adopted under the above laws, as well as other regulations governing environmental protection as well as protection and use of natural assets.

The group of regulations governing the area of the energy sector includes: the Energy Law, executive regulations under this Law, the Energy Sector Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, and the Program of Implementation of the Energy Sector Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, and other above specified regulations related to the issuing of the energy license, connection of a structure to the grid and the like.

The Energy Law stipulates that energy facilities may be constructed if the Minister of Mining and Energy issues the energy permit to the applicant. The procedure for obtaining the energy permit is regulated by the Rulebook on Criteria for Issuing of Energy Permits, Contents of the Application, and Procedure of Issuing Energy Permits. It also stipulates that the energy permit shall be issued in compliance with the Energy Sector Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia and with the Program of Implementation of the Energy Sector Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, which regulates the requirements and the place where a concrete energy facility should be constructed. The procedure for obtaining the energy permit precedes the procedure for obtaining the Construction Permit for a concrete facility, which is regulated by a group of regulations on planning and construction.

The procedures that are related to the obtaining of the energy permit, the location permit, the Construction Permit, the operating permit, the license for engaging in the activity, connection to the electricity grid or to a district heating network, and other procedures necessary to obtain the ancillary documentation are administrative procedures, and the deadlines for obtaining such decisions are specified in the actual regulation governing the procedure for obtaining an administrative decision necessary for construction of a biomass/biogas power plant or for engaging in the activities of electricity and/or heat generation. In case such deadlines are not specified in the concrete regulations, the Law on General Administrative Procedure shall be applied on the deadline for issuing the concrete administrative decision. (*54) (*55)

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Procedure for Construction of a Power Plant

In order to construct and utilize any structure in the Republic of Serbia, and even the structure of a biomass/biogas power plant, it is necessary to meet the following requirements: 1) To obtain the energy permit; 2) To obtain the location permit; 3) To obtain the Construction Permit; 4) To construct the structure, and 5) To ensure the technical inspection of the structure and to obtain the operating permit.

Construction of facilities in the Republic of Serbia, formally, starts with the obtaining of the Construction Permit, and it is carried out on the basis of the Construction Permit and the technical documentation, under the conditions and in the manner stipulated in the Law on Planning and Construction.

The following shall be attached to the application for the Construction Permit: 1) The location permit; 2) The energy permit, which is necessary for construction of energy facilities, which include biomass/biogas power plants of a capacity exceeding 1 MW; and 3) The main design.

Within the procedure for obtaining the location permit from the competent authorities and organizations, it is necessary to obtain the water requirements, electric power and technical requirements for connection to the electricity grid, requirements for connection to the public utility infrastructure, etc. In order to obtain an energy permit, it is necessary to obtain the Information on Location. In any event, the procedure for obtaining the Energy Permit must be completed prior to submitting the application for the location permit. In the procedure for obtaining the Construction Permit, for biomass/biogas power plants of a capacity exceeding 1 MW, preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study of the facility may be requested and, for capacities exceeding 50 MW, it is mandatory.

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Selection of the Location, Perusal of Valid Planning Documents, and Information on Location

The first step of a potential investor, or of the person for whose requirements the structure is constructed and to whom the Construction Permit for construction of a biomass/biogas power plant will be made out, is certainly selection of the location. This step must also be related to the analysis of the raw material potential (biomass or raw materials for production of biogas), which will be used for generation of electricity/heat in the biomass/biogas power plant.

The second step of the investor is verification as to whether the valid planning documents envisage construction of an energy facility on the selected location. One should bear in mind that power plants may also be constructed on agricultural land, with the previously obtained approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. In the unit of local self-government, whose territory includes the selected location, one can get for perusal the valid planning document in which it is possible to check whether construction of energy facilities has been envisaged at that location. Then, the application for the information on the location shall be submitted for the desired location, for the purpose of obtaining the data on the possibilities and limitations with respect to the construction on the reviewed cadastral lot in line with the valid planning document.

The application for the Information on Location shall be submitted to the authority in charge of issuing the location permit. A copy of the lot(s) plan shall be submitted with the application for the information on the location, which has been previously applied for in the competent real estate cadastral service in the territory of the municipality. In parallel with the procurement of a copy of the plan, the recommendation is to also apply for a transcript of the list of title deeds for the subject cadastral lot(s) from the real estate cadastral service, in order to identify the owner(s) of the land.

The information on the location, in addition to the name of the applicant, the number of the cadastral lot, and the place where it is located, shall also contain (*56) the data on: 1) The planning document based on which it is issued; 2) The zone in which it is located; 3) The use of the land; 4) Regulation and building lines; 5) Codes of construction; 6) Requirements for connection to the infrastructure; 7) The need to prepare a detailed urban plan or urban design (*57); 8) The cadastral lot, or whether the cadastral lot fulfills the requirements for the building plot with the instructions on the required procedure for forming the building plot; 9) Engineering and geological conditions; 10) Special requirements for issuing the Location Permit (list of requirements). The information on the location shall enable the person, to whose name it is issued, to gather all the special requirements (requirements for protection of cultural monuments, requirements for preservation of the environment, etc.) and technical requirements (the place and method of service connections of the structure to the infrastructure lines, as well as their capacities) prior to the issuing of the location permit. The information on the location shall be issued by the authority in charge of issuing the location permit, within eight days as of the date of submitting the application, against remuneration of the actual costs of issuing such information.

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Details of Relevant Legislation

(*54) The Law on General Administrative Procedure (Official Herald of RoS, Nos. 33/97 and
31/01).

(*55) Article 208 of the Law on General Administrative Procedure stipulates that the deadline for issuing of a decision by the competent administrative authority shall be 30 days, if it is not necessary to follow a special examining procedure, or maximum 60 days as of the date of a duly submitted application. General deadline for an appeal shall be 15 days as of the date of receipt of the first-instance decision, unless the law stipulates otherwise. Article 236 of the Law on General Administrative Procedure stipulates that, in case the administrative authority fails to issue the administrative decision for which the application has been submitted, upon the expiry of the deadline for handing down the decision, the applicant shall be entitled to lodge an appeal because the first-instance application has not been decided on.

(*56) The Rulebook on Contents of Information on Location and on Contents of Location Permit (Official Herald of RoS, No. 3/10).

(*57) An urban design shall be prepared for the formed building plot on the certified cadastral - spatial plan. An urban design shall be prepared when that is envisaged in the urban development plan, the spatial plan of the unit of local self-government, or in the spatial plan of an area of special use and it shall contain: 1) The requirements for construction on the building plot including all the special requirements, 2) Conceptual designs, 3) The description, technical description, and explanation of the solution from the urban design, etc. The urban design may be prepared by a legal entity or by an entrepreneur registered in the registry for preparation of technical documentation, and the preparation of the design shall be managed by the town planner-in-charge, an architect. The competent authority of the unit of local self-government shall organize a public presentation within 7 days, and then the urban design shall be submitted to the Planning Commission, which shall, within 30 days, check whether the design has been harmonized with the spatial document and the Law on Planning and Construction. The competent authority of the unit of local self-government shall issue the certificate that the urban design has been prepared in compliance with the urban development plan, the spatial plan of the unit of local self-government, or with the spatial plan of an area of special use and the Law on Planning and Construction.

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Note: This text is taken from the document-guide for investors "Construction of Plants and Electricity/Heat Generation from Biomass in the Republic of Serbia", of which authors are Dr. Branislava Lepotic Kovacevic, PhD Law, and Bojan Lazarevic, BSc El. Eng.

The project was implemented under the patronage of USAID, GTZ / GIZ Serbia and the Ministry of Energy in 2010.