French firm IEL plans 90 MW solar park in northern Serbia

IEL from western France ordered a spatial planning document for its 90 MW solar park project near Čoka in Serbia’s far north, near the Romanian border.

The local parliament in the Municipality of Čoka has initiated the production of a detailed regulation plan for a site envisaged for a solar park near the village of Vrbica. It voted upon the expression of interest from IEL OIE Balkan Renewable Energy, the Serbian subsidiary of Initiatives et Energies Locales or Groupe IEL, based in France.

The company will cover the expenses for the spatial planning document for the Čoka solar park, which will be drafted together with a strategic environmental assessment, the decision reads. The envisaged nameplate capacity is 90 MW.

Čoka solar power plant to be connected to mid-voltage grid

The complex is planned to consist of a solar power plant and accompanying infrastructure. It is supposed to be connected to a mid-voltage network, the municipal council added.

Čoka is in the Banat region, which hosts most of Serbia’s wind power capacity

The site spans just over 100 hectares in Serbia’s far north in the immediate vicinity of the Romanian border. It consists of 16 lots. The deadline for the production of the plan is six months.

Čoka is in the Serbian part of the Banat region, which it shares with Romania. The southern part hosts most of the country’s wind power capacity.

Of note, also in the Čoka municipality, Panawiss Plus, which is registered as an electricity producer, just filed an urban planning project for a photovoltaic unit with 2.5 MW in peak capacity in Padej. The firm, which is registered in the village, said it would build the facility on its own land.

The location spans over five hectares. It is next to a biogas power plant. Panawiss Plus revealed it intends to use AbiSolar’s panels with 600 W in nameplate capacity.

IEL preparing to build wind park nearby with Akuo Energy

IEL, headquartered in Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, is also developing the Bašaid wind power plant project with fellow French company Akuo Energy. The location for the 85 MW facility with 15 turbines, valued at EUR 120 million, is in nearby Kikinda.

It is planned to be connected to a 110 kV power line. Two protocols regarding the Bašaid endeavor were signed in 2019 during the visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Serbia, together with a document on a French geothermal project in the country in which IEL participated.