Serbia aims to build pumped storage hydropower plant Bistrica by 2031

Pumped storage hydropower project Bistrica is expected to financially contribute up to EUR 140 million per year to Serbia’s state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije.

The first meeting of the special working group for the construction of the Bistrica plant was held in the building of the Government of Serbia, the Ministry of Mining and Energy said.

Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović said at the beginning of the gathering that it is the most important project in the energy sector. Bistrica is also part of the plan Skok u budućnost – Srbija EXPO 2027 (Leap to the Future – Serbia EXPO 2027).

This year is very important for the completion of technical documentation

The first meeting of the special working group was attended by the representatives of the ministries of energy, finance, environmental protection, and internal affairs, the Republic Geodetic Authority, Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), transmission system operator Elektromreža Srbije (EMS), distribution system operator Elektrodistribucija Srbije (EDS) and the municipalities of Priboj and Nova Varoš, located in Serbia’s southwest.

The participants said this year is very important for the completion of technical documentation. The project design and feasibility study have been completed, while the spatial plan and the environmental impact assessment are under preparation.

A study on the protection of immovable cultural property is also being conducted

In addition, the ministry said a study on the protection of immovable cultural property will be prepared in the next four months in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Kraljevo, which has authority in the region where the project would be located.

Đedović Handanović stated that the Bistrica project is the first pumped storage hydropower plant that the country is building in 35 years and the largest new electricity generation facility, at 628 MW and valued at EUR 1 billion.

The power plant is of great importance for balancing and storage, she stressed.

EPS to increase revenues by EUR 140 million

Đedović Handanović said that without Bistrica the country wouldn’t be able to provide enough electricity for domestic consumption, which is expected to increase with economic development and a rise in overall demand.

Without it, Serbia wouldn’t be able to balance new renewable energy capacities, and this is the greatest value of the project, she said.

According to the ministry, the Bistrica pumped storage hydropower plant will secure significant financial benefits of up to EUR 140 million per year. It based the estimate on projections for renewable energy deployment in Serbia and the region and an increase in the demand for balancing reserves and energy.

The ministry, in cooperation with all relevant state authorities and the project team, needs to be efficient in completing its tasks to meet all the preconditions to build the hydropower plant by 2031, Đedović said.