Montenegro’s state power utility EPCG has completed work on the second of three turbine foundations at the 21 MW Gvozd 2 wind farm, advancing a nearly €26 million expansion aimed at reducing the country’s exposure to hydrological volatility and electricity imports.
The project on the Krnovo plateau is expected to generate about 63 GWh a year once completed.
Together with the existing Gvozd capacity, the expansion will lift the wider complex to 75.6 MW, with expected annual production of more than 200 GWh.
EPCG is developing the extension with turbine manufacturer Nordex, while the project has financing support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The construction milestone is significant because Montenegro’s electricity balance remains heavily dependent on hydropower.
During dry periods, reduced reservoir production can quickly increase the country’s import requirement and expose EPCG to higher regional wholesale prices.
Wind provides a different production profile.
Unlike solar, which is concentrated around daylight hours, wind can generate during evenings and overnight periods when regional electricity prices are often higher.
That makes additional wind capacity increasingly valuable as Southeast Europe adds more photovoltaic generation.
The first Gvozd development has already added meaningful non-hydro renewable output to EPCG’s portfolio.
Gvozd 2 will deepen that diversification while using an established development area and existing operating experience.
The project is relatively small compared with the multi-hundred-megawatt renewable developments proposed elsewhere in the region.
But its contribution is significant within Montenegro’s power system.
A further 63 GWh of annual generation can reduce imports during periods when hydrological conditions are weak and help EPCG preserve reservoir water for higher-value hours.
The project also fits Montenegro’s broader strategy of combining wind and solar development with hydro flexibility and cross-border trading.
The country is connected with neighbouring Balkan systems and Italy through the undersea cable, giving additional generation access to several markets.
The commercial value of Gvozd 2 will therefore depend not only on annual production but on when that electricity is generated.
Wind output during regional evening scarcity can be worth substantially more than another megawatt-hour produced during a solar-heavy afternoon.
Construction risk remains until turbine installation, electrical works and grid commissioning are completed.
But the foundation milestone moves Gvozd 2 further from development pipeline into physical execution.
For Montenegro, that distinction matters.
The country has accumulated a large pipeline of proposed renewable projects, but relatively few have reached construction.
Gvozd 2 is therefore becoming another test of whether Montenegro can convert its renewable ambitions into operating capacity that materially reduces import and hydrological risk.
