October 20, 2025
by in News

Ljiljana Velimirović is the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy for 2025

Ljiljana Velimirović, Project Manager 1, Investment Sector, Serbian state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije, received the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2025 award. The award recognizes outstanding results and dedication in advancing the energy sector in the Republic of Serbia.

At the annual event of WISE Serbia Women’s Network in sustainable energy, climate action, and environmental protection, Ljiljana Velimirović received the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2025 award. The announcement of the leader has been organized for the third consecutive year with the support of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

WISE Serbia has existed since 2018. It is one of the first networks of its kind in the world, with over 250 members currently.

The award competition featured 10 remarkable women whose leadership, exceptional achievements, and vision play a key role in the sustainable development of the sector, accelerating the energy transition, improving energy security and safety, and promoting greater recognition of women in the field.

During the public voting process, which was held from September 24 to October 10, a total of 2,842 votes were cast. Ljiljana Velimirović, a mechanical engineer with over 35 years of professional experience, received the highest number of votes. GIZ Project Director Till Barmeier presented the award.

Photo: GIZ Project Director Till Barmeier with the laureate Ljiljana Velimirović, Project Manager 1, Investment Sector, EPS

On receiving the award, Velimirović thanked the WISE network for its dedication and for promoting women in energy, as well as all her colleagues, whom she highlighted as her greatest support.

“I am very proud to have been chosen to represent Elektroprivreda Srbije in the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy of 2025 competition. It is an honor that, by leading projects to build desulfurization plants in our largest thermal power plants, I have contributed to the ecological modernization not only of EPS but of the entire Serbian energy sector,” Velimirović said.

The event was officially opened by Branislava Jovičić, co-founder of WISE Serbia, founder and editor of the Balkan Green Energy News portal, and director of the Belgrade Energy Forum conference, H.E. Anke Konrad, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Belgrade, and Jovana Joksimović, Assistant Minister for International Cooperation, European Integration, and Project Management, Ministry of Mining and Energy.

Jovičić: WISE network has built a strong community of women over eight years

In her speech, Branislava Jovičić emphasized that over seven years, WISE Serbia has built a strong community of 250 professionals whose knowledge, experience, and vision contribute to the development of sustainable energy and climate policy in Serbia.

Thanks to the support of international partners and the dedication of its members, the network has conducted two major studies on the role of women in energy, launched a mentoring program connecting different generations of professionals, and become an important platform for knowledge exchange, inspiration, and joint initiatives.

Photo: Branislava Jovičić, co-founder of WISE Serbia, founder and editor of the Balkan Green Energy News portal, and director of the Belgrade Energy Forum conference

“Today, when dark clouds of geopolitical turmoil and denial of climate reality hang over the world, I dare say that the fight for sustainability, climate, and peace is a task that each of us must embrace, regardless of our profession. This is our generational mission. Our responsibility to ourselves and future generations,” Jovičić said.

Konrad: Women Remain Undervalued Drivers of Change

Sustainable strengthening of energy supply is important in Serbia, Germany, and around the world, emphasized German Ambassador Anke Konrad in her speech.

“The energy transition requires organizations that symbolize this transition. Therefore, I thank the Center for the Promotion of Sustainable Development through the WISE Serbia project for their engagement over the past years, which the German Federal Government has supported through GIZ for many years.”

Photo: H. E. Anke Konrad, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Serbia

Konrad highlighted that people are the most important factor in the energy transition and reminded that women remain undervalued drivers of change.

Konrad: The Female Leader in Sustainable Energy award shows what can be achieved when leadership, innovation, and social responsibility go hand in hand

“The WISE project has evolved into a unique platform, a space where professionals build networks, share knowledge, mentor young talents, and create visible role models. The Female Leader in Sustainable Energy award shows what can be achieved when leadership, innovative strength, and social responsibility go hand in hand,” she concluded.

Jovana Joksimović, at the opening, noted that she has been a member of WISE Serbia since its foundation, highlighting the importance of unity and support among women in the energy sector.

Emphasizing that the green transition is not only about meeting international obligations, Joksimović reminded that the plan is for every second megawatt produced by 2030 to come from renewable sources, leading to a cleaner and healthier environment for current and future generations.

Jovana Joksimović, Assistant Minister for International Cooperation, European Integration, and Project Management, Ministry of Mining and Energy

Citing data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Joksimović pointed out that women make up 32% of employees in the global renewable energy sector, but their share is still below the global average of 45.9% of women in the overall economy.

“Every percentage point of women’s participation reminds us how much more progress can be made, and how much we have already achieved. I am proud of every one of us who is part of the energy transition—in wind farms, solar power plants, banking, engineering, management, innovation, education, and law.”

Photo: WISE Serbia women’s network and nominees for Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2025 award

Women’s Leadership in Times of Geopolitical Challenges – Excellence, Achievements, and a Sustainable Vision

After the award ceremony, a panel discussion was held under the title “Women’s Leadership in Times of Geopolitical Challenges – Excellence, Achievements, and a Sustainable Vision.” The panel was moderated by Maja Turković, Executive Vice President of CWP Europe and recipient of the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy award in 2023.

Photo: Panel discussion “Women’s Leadership in Times of Geopolitical Challenges – Excellence, Achievements, and a Sustainable Vision”

Panel participants included Svetlana Cerović, Director of the Specialized Financing Department at UniCredit Bank Serbia and last year’s Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2025 award; Marija Rošulj, Credit Risk and ESG Specialist at ProCredit Bank and participant in the WISE mentoring program; Jasmina Grbović Novaković, Director of the Center for Excellence in Hydrogen and Renewable Energy at the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences; and Amalija Pavić, Deputy Executive Director at AmCham Serbia.

The panelists shared their experiences on the role of women in shaping the energy transition in a complex geopolitical environment, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and leadership based on knowledge and sustainability values.

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May 15, 2025
by in News

Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 – energy market reforms accelerate integration into EU

Electricity market coupling with neighbors in the European Union is a major factor in the EU integration of Energy Community contracting parties and the Western Balkans, alongside deeper coordination within the region, the establishment of energy interconnections, investments in renewables and progress in carbon pricing, top officials pointed out at the opening of Belgrade Energy Forum – BEF 2025.

Founder and Editor of Balkan Green Energy News Branislava Jovičić said the current changes in the energy sector can already be called an energy revolution.

The third Belgrade Energy Forum, BEF 2025, started today in Serbia’s capital city, welcoming four hundred participants from more than 30 countries from the region, Europe and beyond. The two-day conference, organized by Balkan Green Energy News, features eight panels with over 50 officials, executives and prominent energy experts.

Serbia was the first in the region to meet the preconditions for electricity market coupling with neighboring countries in the European Union and Energy Community, said Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović. She added that the technical process would be completed within 18 months after the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) conduct the necessary steps.

Electricity market coupling will be completed within 18 months when the technical process starts

“It will be a historic event for our country for its benefits for citizens and companies, as it will ensure a more stable electricity supply and access to more affordable energy prices. It will turn us into an equal member within the region but also the EU as concerns the energy sector,” Đedović Handanović stated.

The SEEPEX power exchange has already prepared implementation projects with its counterparts in Hungary and Bulgaria for market coupling on their borders, the minister stressed.

Up to EUR 15 billion needs to be invested in energy

Đedović Handanović also pointed out that domestic and European regulators certified Serbia’s gas transmission system operator Transportgas for the first time. The start of construction of the Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline is expected to begin early next year at the latest, the minister said.

The baseline for the development plan for energy infrastructure and energy efficiency should be completed by the end of May, she revealed. It identifies the need for EUR 14 billion to EUR 15 billion in investments in the next ten years, according to Đedović Handanović. Renewables and new hydropower potential account for EUR 7 billion, she said.

Serbia will double the electricity transmission capacity with Hungary and increase it with Bulgaria, the minister asserted.

Serbia is frontrunner in region with its progress toward market coupling

As the Western Balkan region confronts the trailing trilemma of decarbonization, affordability, and energy security, the need for an accelerated integration with the European Union has never been more urgent, Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski said.

The organization provides a platform for the process, a strategic window of opportunity to inspire market confidence now, not in years or months to come, he explained. Lorkowski said it implies deeper coordination among Energy Community contracting parties in removing cross-border bottlenecks and harmonizing market operations.

Above all, there is an urgent need to move forward on electricity market integration with the EU, so the region can fully benefit from it in 2027, he noted, underscoring that Serbia is the frontrunner.

Exporters of electricity to the EU can attend a technical consultative meeting in Brussels on July 1

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is another urgent priority, Lorkowski said. He announced that the Energy Community Secretariat and European Commission would organize a technical consultative meeting in Brussels on July 1 for electricity exporters to the EU.

The establishment of domestic carbon pricing mechanisms is inevitable, Lorkowski warned. The question is how to introduce domestic carbon pricing and keep energy prices affordable for households and competitive for businesses, he told the audience at BEF 2025.

“The way forward is clearly defined, and the conditions linked to energy market reform and decarbonization are well known. And I’m, frankly speaking, very optimistic that progress on these issues can be substantive in months and years to come,” the secretariat’s head stressed.

Jovičić: Energy revolution underway

Energy and climate issues are among the most important ones in the world today, as well as in Southeastern Europe, Founder and Editor of Balkan Green Energy News Branislava Jovičić said. All stakeholders, aware of the necessity of rapid changes and prudent solutions, are working toward a secure energy supply and decarbonization, she added.

“Last year we spoke about the energy transition. This year we can freely call the changes in the energy sector an energy revolution,” Jovičić stated. The five pillars of the energy revolution are solar and wind power, battery storage, digitalization, nuclear energy and decentralized generation and consumption, she stressed.

Balkan Green Energy News is a leading energy media website in the region and one of the top 50 in the world, Branislava Jovičič said.

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