ERS granted concession for hydropower plant Bileća

Hidroelektrane na Trebišnjici (HET), a subsidiary of state power utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS), has been granted a concession for hydropower plant Bileća.

The concession agreement to build and operate hydropower plant Bileća, in the municipality of Bileća, was signed by Petar Đokić, energy minister of the Republic of Srpska, Gordan Mišeljev, CEO of HET, and Slobodan Čomić, ERS’ acting executive director for economic and financial affairs.

HET applied for a preliminary environmental impact assessment for the Bileća hydropower project in 2021. The run-of-river hydropower plant Bileća is the third and last facility in a planned cascade within the Gornji horizonti subsystem on the Trebišnjica river. The first in the row is Nevesinje, with a capacity of 60 MW, followed by hydropower plant Dabar, which is under construction.

Photo: Government of the Republic of Srpska

Bileća will have an installed capacity of 33.5 MW, with a projected annual output of 121.6 GWh, according to a press release.

The investment is valued at BAM 127.7 million (EUR 65.3 million)

The 50-year concession agreement envisages the hydropower plant to be completed within five years. The investment is valued at BAM 127.7 million (EUR 65.3 million).

95% of the concession fees will go to the municipality of Bileća

The concessionaire has already paid a one-off fee of EUR 326,499 for gaining the rights to the project. The concession fee during the operation of the power plant will be EUR 0.0028 per kWh produced, with 95% of the revenues going to the budget of the municipality of Bileća.

Also in the Republic of Srpska, the construction of hydropower plant Buk Bijela is currently under way.

​Bileća – a green energy hub

Earlier this year, Banjaluka-based firm V&Z zaštita was granted a contract for solar park Bileća. Under the contract, the solar park is to be built within two years. The concession period is 30 years, and the investment is estimated at BAM 17.4 million (EUR 8.9 million).

Almost every municipality in eastern Herzegovina in the Republic of Srpska has at least one large green energy project under development.