Photovoltaic potential of the City of Požarevac

Photovoltaic power plants represent a good solution concerning electric energy supply under the condition that there are sufficiently available and suitable areas for their mounting. This study supports an opinion hypothesis that the City of Požarevac has at its disposal a considerable potential for energy production by photovoltaic power plants at the degraded areas. The geographic information systems were used to identify and create polygons for degraded areas, and the Energy capacity assessment tool was used in order to estimate the solar potential for this areas. The results showed that it would be possible to generate about 43% of the electric energy produced by thermal power plants “Kostolac A” and “Kostolac B” by construction and work of photovoltaic power plants in proposed locations. For a long-term standpoint, this project would prevent the emission of over 30 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. This study should contribute to the better understanding of local authorities regarding the potential for the use of solar energy, as well as, define of better principles, measures, instruments and policy to stimulate the application of solar energy to secure the requirements for electric energy.