Coal municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina selling land for solar park

The Municipality of Stanari in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina is preparing to auction six land lots for the construction of a solar park. The area hosts a coal mine and thermal power plant built in 2016. Its owner EFT Group recently expressed interest in investing in photovoltaic projects.

Representatives of legal entities registered as electricity producers can attend an in-person auction in Stanari on December 22 and bid for 1.2 hectares of municipal land. The local authority said the area can only be used for the construction of a solar park.

There are six connected lots of low-grade agricultural land, with between 842 and 4,128 square meters in size. They will be sold as a package, at a starting price of EUR 56,300.

The participants are obligated to provide a deposit worth 10% of the starting price. The winner will have two years to build the solar power plan or the land will be returned to the municipality without compensation, the call reads.

The Stanari coal plant is the newest such facility in the Western Balkans

Stanari is located in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the Republic of Srpska, one of the two entities making up the country. The municipality, which has less than 7,000 inhabitants, hosts the newest coal-fired power plant in the Western Balkans.

The 300 MW facility was put into operation in 2016. However, Serbia is just finishing its Kostolac B3 unit, possibly the last coal plant in Europe.

The Stanari complex, including a coal mine, is owned by EFT Group. Actually, a month ago its subsidiary EFT – rudnik i termoelektrana Stanari signed an agreement on cooperation in the development of renewable energy projects, especially for solar power, with the entity Ministry of Energy and Mining.

The firm said it would seek suitable locations in the Republic of Srpska and apply for concessions.

The local authority’s upcoming auction will be a modest step on the decarbonization and energy transition path. Several coal towns have recently taken it in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other entity.