THE ENERGY CRISIS AND THE USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Abstract

The global energy crisis faced by the Republic of North Macedonia has imposed the
need for increased use of renewable energy sources. For decades we have not undertaken
anything for the real development of the energy sector, we are still a country that imports
most of the total energy consumption. Overcoming the problem with electricity requires a
long-term plan, i.e. a strategy that the Republic of Northern Macedonia has adopted, but the
reality is that it is not applied in practice. Given that the Republic of North Macedonia is
facing a shortage of coal, the energy crisis has imposed the need to import coal and produce
energy from the thermal power plants TEP Oslomej and TEP Negotino. Thermal power plants
are the biggest polluters of the environment, they have a bad impact on human health and
they have cost the economy a lot. The commitment for decarbonization of the energy sector
is based exclusively on strategies, programs, documents, but in reality nothing is undertaken.
Overcoming the energy crisis is seen in the production of energy from own resources,
investing in the production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind farms,
small hydropower plants, photovoltaic plants and biomass.