3 minute read
Maja Turković, Senior Vice President for Business Development at CWP Europe
Business Championing Renewables
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CWP is a leading renewable energy development company operating in Southeast Europe and Australia. Over the past 15 years, CWP has been investing in sustainable development and energy transition and is currently developing more than 4 GW of renewable energy capacity in Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, Albania and Ukraine
The CWP team in Belgrade is growing constantly and today consists of 40 highly educated and motivated employees who work diligently to implement projects, led by Senior Vice President for Business Development at CWP Europe Maja Turković.
CWP has achieved a lot in a relatively short period. Do you think that your swift progress is linked to the fact that you’re not only chasing profit, but rather also taking care of what is good for the future of the planet and Serbia?
Our mission is to lead the energy transition of SEE with the development of utility-scale, subsidy-free renewables, and our experience positions us perfectly to do so. This requires taking great care to ensure that this transition is implemented in a sustainable manner and that projects contribute in a positive way to the communities in which they are built and to broader environmental protection, in addition to the carbon reduction and abatement that they will generate. Since its founding, care for nature and everyone we work with has been the lens through which all of CWP’s decisions have been made. We believe that companies should be responsible, active, value-adding members of their communities and we strive not just to reduce our environmental and social footprint, but also to have a broader transformative impact on the regions in which we operate. Such an approach inevitably brings success in all fields.
Some existing jobs and business models develop faster and better with female sensibility. Is the development of renewable energy sources among them?
I believe that the participation of women in renewables is essential for a green future, and we need to empower them to confront challenges and stereotypes. It is obvious that women generally have a stronger awareness of environmental protection and stronger motivation to engage in pro-environmental activities, which also reflects on the development of renewable energy sources. I can proudly say that CWP in Serbia employs more women than men, and I am glad that we are able to set an example for other companies.
Serbia is supposed to build one gigawatt of solar power generation capacity over the next ten years. Can we do that; how realistic is that target?
A solar boom is already underway in Serbia, so the country should be able to achieve that goal in the next five years. As for our company is concerned, we are currently developing two large solar projects in Serbia with a total capacity of 200 MW, both of which have reached advanced stages of development. We have recently also announced that we have started developing new projects, one of which is an 80 MW solar power plant and the country’s first hybrid power plant in eastern Serbia, consisting of a 50 MW solar park, a 100 MW wind farm and a 20 MWh energy storage system.
We have the potential and the capacities, but do we also have the personnel to develop green projects? How do you motivate young people to study and train for these jobs?
The business sector has an important role to play in this. Youth empowerment is an equally important area in which CWP innovates and seeks opportunities to add value. We support talented youngsters through partnerships with trusted NGOs and our own programmes. Some of our employees have created and taken part in a Mentorship Programme aimed at supporting the personal and professional development of Serbian students. This programme has received an overwhelming response from participants who gave us feedback that they feel empowered to take charge of their personal and professional development and give back to their communities on a much larger scale.
