Serbia moves closer to building Bistrica pumped storage hydropower plant

Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) has filed a request to define the scope and content of an environmental impact assessment for the planned Bistrica pumped storage hydropower plant. Serbia’s state-owned utility has also launched a tender to produce the missing documentation for the Bistrica project, which is expected to enable the integration of 1.5 GW of renewable energy capacity.

The Bistrica pumped storage hydropower plant is planned to have four turbines, with a nominal capacity of 165.25 MW each, and four pumps of 182 MW apiece. The facility would be built on the Uvac and Lim rivers, in the municipalities of Nova Varoš and Priboj in Serbia’s southwest.

The construction of Bistrica and the utilization of the Uvac and Kokin Brod reservoirs, along with the planned new Klak reservoir, would result in a total of 55 GWh of energy storage capacity, with the potential to expand it to 310 GWh, according to the request EPS submitted to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The energy storage capacity would be around 55 GWh, with the possibility to expand it to 310 GWh

This facility would be of major importance for balancing Serbia’s power system, as it would enable the integration of an additional 1,500 MW in capacity from variable renewable energy sources, according to the document.

The project envisages building the Klak dam on the Uvac River, which would serve as the upper reservoir, holding more than 100 million cubic meters of water. The lower reservoir already exists on the Lim River, formed by the construction of the Potpeć dam.

Works are planned to begin in early 2028

The planned implementation timeline for the Bistrica project is six years, with works expected to start in early 2028. However, the completion deadline will depend on a number of factors, and the timeline remains subject to change depending on circumstances.

EPS counts on a loan from Japan

The tender for the missing documentation, a job valued at around EUR 5.2 million, covers documents related to the reconstruction and upgrade of the Radoinja dam, located upstream of the planned Klak dam, as well as an update of the existing feasibility study for the Bistrica project.

The tender also includes consultancy services for securing loan approval from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The deadline to submit bids is May 22.

In the summer of 2024, the Japanese government gave the green light for JICA to participate in the Bistrica project in Serbia, which was valued at EUR 1.2 billion at the time. In October of the same year, the Government of Serbia adopted a spatial plan for the project.