Investment in renewable energy sources in Montenegro is gaining momentum, with the trend of announcing new investments initiated in 2022 continuing throughout last year. While the state has not built any major energy facilities for over 40 years, private investors have launched projects worth hundreds of millions of euros.
The construction of several solar and wind power plants throughout Montenegro has been announced, and the first contracts for connecting these energy facilities to the power transmission system have been signed. Additionally, the first ground-mounted solar power plant has been put into operation.
The potentials of renewable sources are also recognized by the Electric Power Company, which also plans several investments. The implementation of the Solari project continues, the start of construction of the Gvozd Wind Farm is awaited, and a solar power plant at Slano Lake is being built.
There were numerous plans and announcements in the energy sector. We present to you those that marked the past year, at least in terms of the attention of eKapija readers.
SE Montechevo Cetinje
In January of last year, we announced the plans of the CWP Europe company to build the Montechevo solar power plant in Montenegro, with a total installed capacity of 400 MW. The power plant will be built in the cadastral municipalities of Lastva, Čevo, and Prentin, in the territory of the capital city Cetinje, with an investment value of around 360 million euros.
The project is planned to be implemented in phases. The construction of the solar power plant is expected to start in early 2025, with completion of the works and its commissioning one year later, in 2026. After the project is completed, Montechevo will be the largest solar power plant in Montenegro.
The expected annual production of the future plant is about 650 GWh, which is enough to supply green energy to more than 154,000 households.
Last year, a contract for connecting this solar power plant to the power transmission system was also signed.
The government issued urban-technical conditions for the construction of the solar power plant to this company, specifically to the Sun Horizon company operating within CWP Europe at the beginning of last year.
Wind Power Plant Bijela in Šavnik
In the Malinsko settlement in Šavnik, the construction of the Bijela wind power plant (WPP) with a total installed capacity of 118.80 MW is planned.
Within the Bijela wind power plant complex, based on preliminary data, the construction of 18 identical wind turbines is envisaged, which will be deployed at precisely defined locations, with a total installed capacity of 118.80 MW. The area covered by only the planned wind turbines is approximately 18 hectares.
The construction contract for this wind power plant was signed at the end of September by the companies Sistem MNE and Simes inženjering from Montenegro and Alcazar Energy from Switzerland. As stated at the time, the investment value is 200 million euros, and construction is expected to commence in 2025.
Solar Park Vuča in Rožaje
A multimillion-dollar investment in renewable energy is also planned by the company BSD Mont from Podgorica, which acquired part of the land of the former Agrobiserica company that operated in the Rožaje area. As reported earlier last year, this company, in cooperation with business partners from Hungary, will build a solar and wind park on the Vuča site, as well as invest in livestock farming and agriculture, including crop production. The investment value is estimated at 200 million euros.
Regarding solar investment, the company plans to build a solar park on the Vuča site, consisting of three power plants covering approximately 194 hectares. The total installed capacity of the power plants is 123.6 MW.
The government has issued urban-technical conditions for the preparation of technical documentation to this company.
Solar Power – SE in Cetinje
The Solar Power company also plans to build a solar power plant in Cetinje. In the Velestovo and Prentin settlements, a power plant with a total capacity of 150 MW is planned. The area of the location is approximately 1,295,540 m². In March, the government issued urban-technical conditions to the company.
Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency has given the green light to the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the implementation of this project.
Čevo Solar in Cetinje
We remain in Cetinje, where at the end of last year, the first ground-mounted solar power plant in Montenegro with an installed capacity of 4.4 megawatts (MW) was commissioned.
SE Čevo Solar is built in Čevo on an area of 70,000 square meters. It will produce 6,064,522 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually. Its size is also reflected in the number of solar panels – a total of 8,112 panels with a capacity of 545 W each.
The investor is the company Čevo Solar.
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