Petrović: Republic of Srpska targets 1 GW of renewables by 2029

State-owned utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske is building power plants that will use renewable sources with a total capacity of 430 MW, General Manager Luka Petrović said and added that private investors have contracts for another 180 MW in the entity. He estimated 1 GW of green energy capacity would be installed in the Republic of Srpska by 2029.

General Manager of Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS) Luka Petrović said at the opening of the Trebinje Energy Summit – SET that the company is one of only a few in the region that can finance investments with its power exports, eKapija reported. That way it managed to invest EUR 80 million in preparation and some of the main works on the construction of its Dabar hydroelectric plant, he pointed out.

ERS now produces 6.5 TWh per year, of which 1.5 TWh is for export, Petrović said. He estimated that the Republic of Srpska would have 1 GW installed in renewable power plants by 2029. It already has contracts in place for investments for 430 MW, worth EUR 800 million, where works have already started, he asserted. When they all become operational, ERS will have a surplus in its energy balance, Petrović underscored.

The Republic of Srpska is one of the two entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Federation of BiH.

Investments in ERS’s projects under construction are worth EUR 800 million, Petrović says

“ERS is the main implementer for the said 430 MW while private investors contracted another 180 MW. There is more potential and I believe it would also be used by next generations. With the new investments, we will get another 1,100 GWh of power, which equals EUR 280 to EUR 300 million at current market prices for our system,” Petrović added.

In practice, facilities running on renewable energy sources are showing they can return the investment within five to six years, he said.

“Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske used about 28% of its hydro potential so far, and there is much more in the territory of the Republic of Srpska, but there are also potentials that we need to utilize together with the electric power industries of Serbia and Montenegro – rivers at the borders, the middle and lower course of the Drina, and the Boka hydropower plant that we are planning to build with Montenegro, and we are working hard on that and analysing models,” Petrović said.

ERS plans to build HPP Boka together with Montenegro

The company has excellent cooperation with Croatia’s state-owned HEP Group in the operation of hydropower plant Dubrovnik, which brings great benefits to ERS, and the electricity is envisaged for exporting, the general manager said.

Minister of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Srpska Petar Đokić estimated that the entity can see 700 MW in renewable energy capacity within five years.