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Herceg Novi plans to join Mostar as the second local authority in the Western Balkans with a plan for its own utility-scale renewable power plant.
Investors in the Western Balkans region have long realized that solar panels are a good opportunity for profit. With the creation of legal conditions for obtaining prosumer status, citizens and small businesses see solar power as an opportunity to protect themselves from electricity price volatility. Local authorities are starting to join the party.
The Sarajevo Canton announced at the beginning of the year its plans to establish a public company for the production of electricity from renewable sources, but Mostar is the first city with a concrete project for a ground-mounted facility for its own needs. Now a town in the Bay of Kotor unveiled a similar endeavor.
Herceg Novi is negotiating with CEDIS on its planned solar power plant
The Municipality of Herceg Novi has started negotiations with the Montenegrin distribution system operator (DSO) Crnogorski elektrodistributivni sistem (CEDIS) on a future solar power plant project, local television station RTHN reported. In addition, the local authority is preparing a web portal for citizens to determine the solar potential of their roofs.
Going forward, first a law must be adopted to regulate the matter.
The municipality has several locations in mind for a solar power plant, though they have to meet certain conditions.
Peulić: The condition is that the power plant cannot be seen from the sea
Ilija Peulić, secretary for energy efficiency, said the first prerequisite is that the solar panels cannot be seen from the sea. The second is that there is a transmission line nearby with enough capacity to integrate the facility.
He added funds have been earmarked for video recording the town from the air to collect data for determining the solar power potential of all roofs in the urban area.
Herceg Novi intends to issue a plan for photovoltaic plants
The town hall and CEDIS will use the information to create a solar panel installation plan. Each roof will have its solar power potential determined including how many panels must be installed to make the investment profitable, the cost and the investment return period.
Owners of buildings in the old part of town and all areas protected as cultural and historical monuments won’t be allowed to install solar panels, Peulić stressed.
The local authority also plans to issue three categories of energy passports.
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