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Public Utility Company (PUC) „Toplana-Šabac“ is the first PUC in Serbia to start producing electricity from renewable energy sources. On August 13th, a small solar photovoltaic power plant of 3 kilowatts was installed on the roof of the administrative building of that company through the Project of the Energy Cooperative “Sunny Roofs Šabac”.

The first energy cooperative in Serbia „Solar Roofs“ was founded by the citizens in Šabac on November 2019, with the support of PUC “Toplana-Šabac”, Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) from Zagreb and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Serbia through the project “Climate Smart Urban Development Challenge (CSUD)”, which is carried out by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Energy cooperatives are a new type of organization and activism, which should lead to an increase in the use of renewable sources. Similar cooperatives already exist in the countries of the European Union and the first cooperative in Serbia is open to all who are interested, regardless of the place they live.

The initiative came from a desire to show that it is possible to bring together people of similar interests around a good idea. The main goal is to implement a project that offers an alternative solution for municipal energy supply. By using renewable energy sources, in this case, solar energy, it is possible to reduce the use of fossil fuels, heating and electricity costs, but also significantly contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The cooperative will soon launch an investment crowdfunding campaign for the first project, the installation of an additional 17-kilowatt solar photovoltaic power plant. The energy produced from photovoltaic power plants, installed on the roofs of private homes and public buildings, generates revenue to members of cooperative from the sale of energy to entities engaged in electricity trading or savings if used for their own needs.