EU expects Montenegro to investigate Možura wind farm allegations

Montenegro August 18, 2020 | Comments: 0Author: Balkan Green Energy News

Photo: Pixabay/mamojdick1

The European Commission expects a “credible, independent, and efficient” investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding the construction of the Možura wind farm, according to the commission’s spokesperson, Ana Pisonero. The corruption allegations had also been the subject of an investigation conducted by the murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Assistant director of the Montenegrin Police Administration Enis Baković has said the institution will act “promptly and efficiently” if it receives a request from Malta through Interpol and Europol regarding the murder.

On the other hand, Montenegrin Parliament Speaker Ivan Brajović in June rejected the opposition’s motion to debate setting up a parliamentary committee that would look into the Možura case.

In a statement to Vijesti, Pisonero also said it is important that issues such as corruption allegations be debated in democratically elected institutions, given that the rule of law is one of the EU’s fundamental values.

The murdered journalist’s son claims her investigation focused on the then Montenegrin Prime Minister, now President Milo Đukanović

The son of the murdered Maltese journalist, who is himself an investigative journalist, has told Vijesti recently that his mother’s investigation focused on the then Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, currently the country’s president, and his Maltese counterpart, Joseph Muscat, and their alleged links with the Azerbaijani ruling elite. Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in 2017.

The investors will receive EUR 115 million in incentives in the first 12 years of Možura’s operation

The 46 MW Možura wind farm, Montenegro’s second largest, was built by a consortium of Maltese state-owned power utility Enemalta and China’s Shanghai Electric Power Company. The wind farm was put in operation in November 2019, following a EUR 90 million investment.

The investors leased state land for a period of 20 years, and should pay a EUR 186,057 fee annually. The state pledged to guarantee a fixed electricity price of EUR 95.99/MWh and EUR 115 million in incentives over the first 12 years of operation. The wind farm has 23 turbines, which are expected to produce 112 GWh of electricity annually.