BiH to add 116 MW with two wind farms – Grebak, Vlašić

The preparations for the construction of the first wind farm in the Republic of Srpska – Grebak (66 MW) are over, and negotiations on financing the construction of the Vlašić wind farm (50 MW) in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are starting.

Wind farms Grebak and Vlašić, with a total capacity of 116 MW, should be built within four years in Bosnia and Herzegovina. So far, the country has two wind farms: Mesihovina (50.6 MW) and Jelovača (36 MW), which means the total would reach at least 202.6 MW.

At the same time, the grid is ready to handle as much as 1,700 MW in additional capacity.

Grebak wind farm project capacity increased by 16 MW

An annex to the concession agreement for the construction of the Grebak wind farm was signed in order to increase the installed capacity from 50 MW to 66 MW. According to the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Srpska, works will begin this week.

Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Đokić and Miralem Čampara, CEO of VE Grebak, a company based in Nevesinje, BiH, sighed the document. The investment is estimated at EUR 66.1 million.

The turbine technology has advanced since the start of the concession procedure, and their installed capacity has been increased, so there is a possibility to increase the capacity of the entire wind farm, the ministry said.

Negotiations with the EIB on a loan for Vlašić are starting

The Federation of BiH is making progress on its way to get another wind farm. It is a project of state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EPBiH), which a few weeks ago received approval to finance the investment with loans.

At the proposal of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH, the country’s Council of Ministers appointed a delegation to negotiate a financing agreement between BiH and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the construction of the Vlašić wind farm.

Green light to start talks on a EUR 36 million loan

The EUR 36 million loan will be approved to the Federation of BiH as the borrower, with a repayment period of 20 years and a deferment for the first four years.

The project is planned to be implemented by 2024. It envisages the construction of a wind farm on the Vlašić plateau which will produce electricity for the domestic power system, according to a press release of the Council of Ministers of BiH.