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In a July 2011 statement to ''ClimateWire'', a World Bank spokesman said the institution had not taken a decision on financing Kosovo B, and that an independent panel of experts was being tasked to determine if the project meets the bank's coal guidelines. The World Bank asked for and received [http://www.eenews.net/assets/2011/07/11/document_cw_02.pdf written support] from the Obama Administration for the World Bank to approve the loan for the new coal plant and privatize the country's electricity distribution system.<ref name=lf>[http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/07/11/11climatewire-us-on-both-sides-of-new-battle-over-assistan-96428.html?pagewanted=1 "U.S. on Both Sides of New Battle Over Assistance to 'Ugly' Coal-Fired Power Plant"] NY Times, July 11, 2011.</ref>
In January 2012 a World Bank analysis concluded that building a lignite coal plant in Kosovo could cost nearly twice as much money as previously estimated.
The study also acknowledged about 400 megawatts of hydro, wind and other clean energy capacity in Kosovo -- something the World Bank had previously dismissed as virtually non-existent. Yet despite newly recognized financial challenges to coal and the existence of cleaner alternatives, the World Bank ultimately concluded that a new 600 MW coal power station remained the "best and cheapest option" for replacing Kosovo's long-neglected power plants and establishing reliable power supply in the country.<ref>[http://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/news/world-bank-studies-coal-fired-power-plant-for-kosovo "World Bank Studies Coal-Fired Power Plant for Kosovo"] Lisa Friedman, EENews, January 17, 2012.</ref>
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