Montenegro’s power utility EPCG begins construction of Gvozd wind farm

Montenegro’s state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first wind farm, Gvozd, with a capacity of 54.6 MW. On the same occasion, it signed the agreement with the contractor – German company Nordex.

EPCG said wind farm Gvozd would be its first large-scale power generation facility in more than 40 years. Its projected annual electricity output is 150 GWh.

Nordex was the top-ranked bidder in a public procurement procedure, conducted in line with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) guidelines. The contract is worth EUR 46.4 million. It is for the design, procurement, supply and installation of equipment as well as the commissioning and long-term maintenance of the future wind power plant on the Krnovo plateau.

The works will be carried out in phases. In addition to eight wind turbines with supporting infrastructure, they will include the construction of the 33/110 kV Gvozd substation, the 110 kV single circuit transmission line between the Gvozd substation and the Krnovo substation, 3.12 kilometers long, as well as the 110 kV single circuit transmission line between Gvozd and the Nikšić substation, about 14.7 kilometers long. The project includes the reconstruction of the Krnovo and Nikšić substations.

Mujović: We are taking very important steps towards the endgame

Under a separate contract, worth EUR 14.5 million, Gvozd is to be connected to the grid by the consortium comprising Novi Volvox and Elnos Belgrade.

The total value of the project, financed from the EBRD’s loan, is EUR 82 million. The works are planned to be completed over 18 months. Once Gvozd is operational, it will generate enough electricity to supply about 25,000 households.

Minister of Energy Saša Mujović said Montenegro “is taking very important steps towards the endgame,” with the endgame being the construction of the Kruševo hydropower plant. “I firmly believe that in the next two years we will start that project as well,” he announced.

Özarslan: Nordex has strategic interest in the Balkans

According to Ibrahim Özarslan, CEO of Nordex Group’s Division Europe, the company is present in the Balkan market – in Serbia and Croatia – but is also interested in expanding to Montenegro and across the region. He added that Nordex has a strategic interest in the Balkans.

Provided there are grid connections, the wind farm could start producing its first kilowatt-hours by the end of next year, Özarslan stressed.

Milutin Đukanović, chairman of the EPCG Board of Directors, expressed the belief that Gvozd would be connected to the Montenegrin grid by the end of 2025. In parallel with the construction of its first wind farm, EPCG is also developing the Gvozd 2 wind power project, of 20 MW.

EPCG’s Chief Executive Officer Ivan Bulatović recalled that the project was launched in 2019. “I hope that we will soon break ground on the Gvozd 2 wind power plant,” he said.