Renewables

Serbia halts wind farm project for first time

serbia-halts-wind-farm-project-bukovik

Photo: Freepik

Published

June 5, 2024

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

June 5, 2024

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Serbia’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued a decision on nature protection conditions which prevents the planned construction of a wind farm on Mount Bukovik, according to an announcement by local environmental organization Sokobanja Ecological Society (SED). This is the first case in Serbia where the construction of a wind power plant has been effectively prohibited.

If the Čestobrodica project were to be implemented, hundreds of hectares of forests would be cut down, leading to erosion, siltation of watercourses and lakes, drying up of springs, and changes in the microclimate, according to SED.

The ministry’s latest decision, claims SED, expressly rules out the construction of wind turbines in the territory of Sokobanja, though the project can go ahead on the territory of Boljevac.

According to the zoning plan for the proposed 253 MW wind farm with 55 turbines, its location would have included the cadastral municipalities of Krivi Vir and Lukovo in the municipality of Boljevac and the cadastral municipalities of Jošanica, Rujevica and Vrbovac in the Sokobanja municipality.

The decision prevents its construction primarily in order to protect the beech forests in the area, which are the habitat of a large number of strictly protected species, including lynx.

The beech forests in the area are home to many protected species, including lynx

SED recalls that Srbijašume has issued design conditions significantly narrowing the investor’s options for the construction of the planned wind farm. Specifically, the conditions prohibit cutting down trees and repurposing the forest land.

The organization also claims that it is now impossible to align the draft zoning plan for the municipality of Sokobanja with the issued conditions.

The municipal authorities should now annul the decision on producing the zoning plan for the Čestobrodica project, which would result in discontinuing all activities related the construction of the wind farm on Mount Bukovik.

Local stakeholders had not been informed about the project’s implementation

A group of Sokobanja residents, several town councilors, and representatives of SED and public forest management enterprise Srbijašume held a meeting in late March, during which they concluded that none of them had been informed on the implementation of the wind farm project or consulted on the decisions regarding the zoning plan.

Moreover, none of those present at the meeting had been given access to any part of the feasibility study or the environmental impact assessment study for the project, according to a report by Politički.rs.

The investor is Belgrade-based Vetroenergo. According to the Business Registers Agency, this firm is 100% owned by Wind Alliance from Belgrade, which is majority owned by Cyprus-registered Comay Co Limited.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

Most read articles on Balkan Green Energy News in 2024

Most read articles on Balkan Green Energy News in 2024

31 December 2024 - In 2024, the readers of Balkan Green Energy News were mostly interested in investments in the region's energy transition as well as the EU's CBAM carbon dioxide border tax

Environmentalists dispute Rio Tinto strategic status Jadar lithium project

Environmentalists dispute Rio Tinto’s bid to win strategic status for Jadar lithium project

27 December 2024 - Serbia-based Marš sa Drine Green Legal Impact from Germany have urged the European Commission not to award a strategic status to the Jadar project

Skopje introduces electric car sharing as part of public transport

Skopje to introduce electric car sharing

26 December 2024 - Skopje is introducing a car share system for electric vehicles in public transportation, with the aim of reducing air pollution.

croatia zadar wastewater management water quality

Croatian tourist hotspots on Adriatic coast receive EUR 55 million to improve wastewater management

23 December 2024 - Croatia received funds for improving wastewater management in the Zadar-Petrčane agglomeration on the Adriatic coast