The American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo has closely followed the recent public statements of members of the caretaker government’s Cabinet regarding the direction the country’s energy policy should take.
According to the Chamber, the priorities presented so far do not properly address Kosovo’s need to increase domestic electricity generation capacity, reduce dependence on imports and, as a result, strengthen security of supply.
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In the American Chamber’s assessment, the key issue is not whether Kosovo has the ability to import electricity produced in neighboring countries. The strategic dilemma, it says, is whether the country should continue to rely on electricity imports as a finished product, or turn toward investment in new generation capacities within its own territory, which would strengthen energy security, economic competitiveness and strategic independence.
For this reason, the American Chamber stresses that expanding new domestic capacities should be treated as a national priority.
It underlines that it has been claimed that importing electricity through the existing transmission network represents a more practical and lower-cost solution than building gas infrastructure in Kosovo. However, according to the Chamber, such an assessment based solely on the initial infrastructure cost does not reflect the long-term benefits brought by creating new domestic generation capacities.
According to it, every new megawatt produced in Kosovo increases security of supply, reduces dependence on regional electricity markets and creates greater stability for the economy and citizens. By contrast, continued reliance primarily on electricity imports leaves the country vulnerable to price fluctuations and supply risks that are beyond Kosovo’s control. The Chamber notes that the European energy crisis following Russian aggression in Ukraine clearly showed that countries with sufficient domestic generation capacities were far better protected from market shocks.
According to the American Chamber, this is one of the fundamental reasons why many European countries have invested and continue to invest in LNG infrastructure, including American LNG. It emphasizes that, beyond the economic dimension, these decisions have been driven by strategic objectives related to diversifying supply sources, reducing dependence on a limited number of suppliers and strengthening national security. Under the new geopolitical reality, energy is no longer seen only as a commercial commodity, but as a key component of security policy and strategic partnerships. For this reason, it says, Kosovo should not remain outside this transformation.
The American Chamber reiterates that this is precisely why expanding domestic generation capacity must remain among Kosovo’s main strategic objectives.
In this context, it assesses that Kosovo’s inclusion in the regional American LNG infrastructure represents the fastest and most economically favorable path for building new generation capacities. The construction of the gas interconnection through North Macedonia has been identified, through studies supported by the United States Army Corps of Engineers within the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) program, as the most economically favorable alternative for supplying Kosovo with natural gas.
It also says that LNG-based generation capacities are among the commercially ready technologies that can be built within just two to three years. It adds that such projects have significantly greater chances of being financed by international financial institutions than the construction of new coal-based capacities. At the same time, the Chamber stresses that LNG is not an alternative to renewable energy sources, but rather the technology that facilitates the integration of a much larger amount of wind and solar energy, while guaranteeing the flexibility needed for the functioning of a modern electricity system.
On the other hand, it assesses that coal gasification may be considered part of discussions on the country’s long-term energy security, but it cannot respond to Kosovo’s urgent needs to increase generation capacities. According to the Chamber, such a project requires significantly more time to be implemented, while securing financing remains uncertain given international decarbonization policies.
For this reason, the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo considers that the country should pursue a dual approach: to develop new LNG-based generation capacities as quickly as possible to meet short- and medium-term energy security needs, while in parallel continuing to assess long-term options for using its own domestic resources.
In conclusion, the Chamber stresses that energy policies should not be weighed solely on the basis of the initial investment cost, but on their ability to guarantee secure supply, predictable prices and domestic electricity generation. According to it, Kosovo’s inclusion in the regional American LNG infrastructure would pave the way for the construction of new generation capacities in the shortest possible time, would significantly increase energy security, strengthen the competitiveness of Kosovo’s economy and further deepen the strategic partnership with the United States of America.
Referring to all these arguments, the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo repeats its position that, at a time when more and more European countries are considering American LNG a strategic investment for their energy and national security, Kosovo should not miss this opportunity.
