The future wind farm Poklecani will be located in the northern part of Posusje municipality, the area which has been assessed as suitable for the construction of a wind farm based on previous measurements and analyses, according to Marija Buntic, head of corporate communications sector at Bosnian power utility EP HZHB.
The basis for planning and preparing the construction of a wind farm Poklecani is the analysis of wind potential, which are also a necessary prerequisite for the assessment of the impact of wind farm on the environment. For this purpose, EP HZHB installed two measuring poles with a height of 50 meters, from which measurement data are collected and processed for a number of years already. This year a third, 100 meters high, measuring pole will be installed, which will give an even more complete picture of the wind potential at the location.
In April, EP HZHB selected Croatian company Megajoule Adria to develop wind potential assessment study for Poklecani wind farm. The power utility launched a tender for the development of such study in mid-2019 and in January 2020 it selected a consortium of the University of Mostar and Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar, which offered around 11,000 euros for the job, as a tender winner. However, the only other bidder Megajoule Adria, whose offer was deemed irregular, filed a complaint. Following a complaint, EP HZHB changed its initial decision and selected Megajoule to perform the study, with an offer of 6,400 euros. According to tender documentation, Croatian company has eight months to complete the study. The concession for Poklecani wind farm was awarded to EP HZHB in 2013. Back then, the company estimated that the construction of the facility, consisting of 36 wind turbines with combined installed capacity between 72 and 108 MW, would cost around 110 million euros. In March 2018, EP HZHB has officially put into operation the first wind farm in Bosnia and Herzegovina – 50.6 MW Mesihovina wind farm near Tomislavgrad. Mesihovina wind farm consists of 22 wind turbines with installed capacity of 50.6 MW. With expected average wind speed of 6 m/s, the wind farm should produce 165 GWh of electricity per year, which would increase EPHZHB’s annual output by 10 %. The project will be funded by 72 million euros loan provided by KfW Bank (loan agreement signed in February 2010) and by 6 million euros provided by EP HZHB itself. Mesihovina is still the only operational wind farm in the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina.