Montenegro lauches strategic partnership with France’s EDF

Montenegro established a strategic partnership with French state-owned energy company EDF and there is a possibility of joint construction of hydropower plants Kruševo and Ćehotina.

One of the options within the strategic partnership that Montenegro just started with EDF is to invest in hydropotential together, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić announced. He said the cooperation is based on an agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he met in Paris in February. The deal encompasses defense, healthcare, the environment and infrastructure, he pointed out.

The strategic partnership is beginning immediately, the prime minister asserted. Spajić expressed hope it would later be formalized and added that some of the projects could be completed by 2032.

Money is no issue

Finding money is the easiest part while EDF was selected for its technical expertise and technology, he said. Spajić highlighted the French state-controlled company’s track record in hydropower and nuclear power plants.

Mujović: This government and the prime minister want to be responsible toward the state institutions and a significant group of people that expressed doubts about the feasibility of project Komarnica

EDF will be a minority partner in the projects, which are supposed to be financed in the market, while Montenegro’s state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore could participate with some of its own funds as well, the prime minister revealed. Every international partner is more than interested in such projects, in Spajić’s view.

The French company is interested in long-term cooperation, he underscored.

Ulazimo u strateško partnerstvo sa kompanijom EDF – francuskom kompanijom koja je najveća i najpoznatija elektroenergetska kompanija na svijetu, sa 96% kapaciteta iz obnovljivih izvora. Jedna kompanija koja je pokrenula zelenu tranziciju prije 60 godina i koja je što se tiče i… pic.twitter.com/LkdndUuQs9

— Milojko Spajić (@MickeySpajic) March 29, 2024

No renewables integration without one serious facility

Minister of Energy and Mining Saša Mujović said Montenegro has great potential, but he explained that it can be materialized only if a “new and serious” electricity production facility is built.

“We have multiple projects – hydropower plant Kruševo and one on the Ćehotina river… There was talk about Komarnica, too, but this government and the prime minister want to be responsible toward the state institutions and a significant group of people that expressed doubts about the feasibility of project Komarnica. We all need to be electricity producers and consumers and a partner like this will make it possible for us,” he stated. Mujović stressed that an opinion is expected from the Environmental Protection Agency about Komarnica.