Germany’s WPD eyes EUR 100 million wind farm investment, government announces tendering

Vjetroelektrana Budva has submitted a request for opening a tendering procedure for the construction of a wind farm at the Brajići locality in the Budva and Bar municipalities, the Montenegrin government has announced, adding that it authorized the line ministries to prepare tendering documents and issue a public invitation of bids.

According to a document on the initiative for the construction of the Brajići wind farm,  adopted by the Montenegrin government, the company is offering to build a 75 MW wind farm and invest more than EUR 100 million. WPD EUROPE GmbH, a subsidiary of German renewable energy company WPD AG, owns 80% of Vjetroelektrana Budva, while 20% is in the hands of a Montenegrin resident, the Montenegrin Central Registry of Business Entities’ data shows.

The Montenegrin government said that the Ministry of Economy has registered strong investor interest in the construction of facilities using renewable energy sources without incentives for generated electricity.

Contacts with potential investors have been intensified, which has led to the submission of a request from Vjetroelektrana Budva for tendering to select investors for the construction of a wind farm and relevant land lease at the Brajići locality, according to the document adopted by the government. The company has also shown readiness to invest more than EUR 100 million in the construction of a 75 MW wind farm, the document reads.

Before submitting the request, the ministry issued a license to Vjetroelektrana Budva to measure and explore wind potential at locations in the municipality of Budva.

So far, the construction of wind farms in Montenegro has been based on the model of state land lease. According to the document, the location where the Brajići wind farm is planned is mostly owned by the state.

The government’s document also states that prerequisites have been met for the development of this project, adding that the Ministry of Economy should set up a commission, comprising representatives of the finance and sustainable development and tourism ministries, in order to produce tendering documentation and issue a public invitation of bids.