Serbia’s EPS starts trial operation of its first wind park Kostolac

Serbia’s state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije put the 66 MW Kostolac wind farm into trial operation.

The construction of Kostolac is complete, and Elektroprivreda Srbije’s (EPS) first wind farm has generated its first megawatt-hours, EPS announced.

Upon receiving approval for connecting to the transmission system, the substation was energized and the blades of wind turbine 1 began to spin. It marked the start of the trial operation of the new generation capacity, the company said, and added that the kickoff of the remaining wind turbines is underway.

EPS’s first wind power plant, with 20 generators, is located at sites called Drmno, Petka, Ćirikovac and Klenovnik, at an area of closed open-pit mines of its subsidiary Termoelektrane i kopovi Kostolac (TE-KO Kostolac). It operates coal-fired power plants and open-pit coal mines.

Živković: It is a historic moment for EPS

Closed coal mines are ideal locations for installing wind farms and solar power plants, due to existing infrastructure. The concept has become widespread in Balkan countries.

“This is a historic moment for EPS. In addition to energy from water, coal, and the sun, now the first wind farm is online. This is a big step toward increasing the share of renewable energy and achieving sustainable energy development for EPS and the entire Serbian energy sector,” CEO Dušan Živković underlined.

He pointed out that the wind farm is just the beginning of future intensive development of new green capacities. It is very significant that it was built on the site of an old mining landfill and that the space has been given a completely new, sustainable purpose, he added.

The wind farm is expected to produce 187 million kWh annually

Živković recalled that the construction of the wind farm was a major challenge, but also a real opportunity for experienced engineers and young, new professionals at EPS to gain new knowledge and experience for future projects.

The planned annual production of the wind farm is 187 million kWh, which is enough to supply about 30,000 households with green electricity, according to EPS.

The project is financed by a EUR 110 million loan from Germany’s KfW Development Bank and a EUR 30 million grant from the European Union via the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), while the company provided a part of the needed funds, EPS said.

Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović said in January 2024, at the signing of an agreement with the EU for the EUR 30 million grant, that it has completed the financing of the project.

According to WBIF’s update from December 2024, the project was valued at EUR 145.1 million. It comprised EUR 81.8 million from a KfW loan and EUR 31 from WBIF in the form of a grant, while EPS provided EUR 32.3 million.