Montenegro’s Environmental Protection Agency has determined that the planned Velestovo solar plant and its transmission line require an environmental impact assessment, for a maximum capacity of 60 MWp. The project, estimated to cost about 50 million euros, is planned near Cetinje and includes nearly 90,000 solar panels.
Podgorica-based SE Velestovo, a subsidiary of Nu Energy and Investment, is the project developer. Company plans call for 89,552 panels across 652,072 square metres in the Velestovo area of the Royal Capital of Cetinje, alongside the local Čevo-Danilovgrad road. The site is 38 kilometres from Cetinje, six kilometres from Čevo and 20 kilometres from Danilovgrad.
The agency’s ruling gives SE Velestovo up to two years from receipt of the decision to prepare and submit the assessment. The company may appeal the ruling within a further 10 days. The agency said the study should specify the plant’s capacity and technical characteristics, including the location of substations and roads.
The assessment is also intended to gather data, forecast potential negative effects and identify environmental protection measures. The agency cited the fact that the area was affected by fire during the summer. SE Velestovo’s documentation estimates maximum annual electricity production at 78,840 gigawatt-hours.
According to the company’s project documents, no nearby built structures are expected to create cumulative environmental effects, although the nearest inhabited family home is about 100 metres from the planned site. The parcels are outside water-source zones and are not in a protected area, the documentation says. It also records no registered immovable cultural assets or visible remains that would indicate archaeological sites.
The site lies at the intersection of the 400 kV Pljevlja-Grbaljska Lastva and Podgorica-Bosnia and Herzegovina transmission lines. The Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism issued urban planning and technical conditions for the project in mid-July 2023.
SE Velestovo submitted project documents to the agency during August so it could determine whether environmental consent and an impact assessment were required. In late September, Cetinje Mayor Nikola Đurašković discussed the project with Nu Energy and Investment representatives, including executive director Erkut Alkaja.
