Republic of Srpska grants largest solar power concession so far

Renewable energy firm Etmax, based in Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been granted a concession from the Government of the Republic of Srpska entity for the 500 MW Nevesinje solar power plant project.

The photovoltaic facility planned by Etmax is the biggest in the country and among the biggest in the Balkans and beyond.

Currently, the largest solar power plant in Europe, at 590 MW, is Iberdrola’s Francisco Pizarro in Extremadura in Spain. Companies in the sector are working on some much larger projects. One with a capacity of 1,000 MW has been launched in France. A 950 MW endeavor started last year in Croatia, and a project for a 660 MW system is under development in Serbia.

The project is estimated at EUR 440 million

Portal Capital.ba reported that the Government of the Republic of Srpska granted Etmax a concession for the construction and use of the Nevesinje solar park. The concession is for 50 years, and the project is valued at EUR 449 million.

Siniša Maksimović, director of Etmax, told the portal the total capacity of the planned photovoltaic project is 500 MW and that it would consists of one 200 MW plant and six units with a capacity of 50 MW each.

The contract should be signed within 60 days, with the design deadline set at two years, and the construction deadline at four years. Etmax already has a concession for the construction of a 60 MW solar power plant, also near Nevesinje.

Etmax has to pay a one-off concession fee of EUR 3.5 million

The company is obligated to pay the entity government a one-off concession fee of EUR 3.6 million. It also must pay EUR 0.0028 per every kilowatt-hour of electricity that it produces.

Milenko Avdalović, the mayor of Nevesinje, said the local authority would benefit from taxes and concession fees and that jobs would be created during the installation of the power plant.

Etmax, in his words, plans to open a plant in Nevesinje this year for the production of the equipment for the facility.

Of note, sunny Herzegovina, where Nevesinje is located, has a large number of projects for the production of electricity in solar power plants.