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==Background on Plant==
The New Kosovo power plant is part of the government's plans to reform Kosovo's energy sector. Other plans include closing [[Kosovo A power station]] by 2017, rehabilitating [[Kosovo B power station]] to meet EU standards, and privatizing the country's electricity distribution system. Plans for New Kosovo also include a lignite coal mine, the Sibovc SW. The World Bank is the main sponsor providing funding for energy sector reforms in Kosovo, including New Kosovo.<ref>[http://www.banktrack.org/manage/ajax/ems_dodgydeals/createPDF/kosovo_c_coal_power_plant "Kosovo C coal power plant,"] Banktrack, updated May 12, 2014.</ref>
The plan to build a new coal plant close to the capital Prishtina has been proposed since the early 2000s. The original proposal was a 2000 MW unit that would export energy, but plans faded due to lack of investors. New Kosovo was later planned to have a capacity of 600 MW, and has been promoted by the US government through the World Bank, which is interested in supporting the project. After Kosovo became a member of the [[EBRD]] in December 2012, the bank declared its interest in potentially financing the new plant in its first Kosovo Country Strategy.<ref>[http://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/briefing-WesternBalkans-Coal-24Jan2014.pdf "Western Balkans: 'cheap' lignite plants built now will cost heavily later,"] Bankwatch, April 2014.</ref>
