Montenegrin state-owned power utility EPCG said that the coronavirus pandemic is the main reason for the delay of its project for the construction of Gvozd wind farm because its consequences affected the global business environment and the energy sector, and all this was reflected in obtaining the necessary permits and negotiations on the financing of the project.
When EPCG initially announced this project, the expected start of construction was in 2021, and commissioning was expected 18 months after the start of the construction.
According to EPCG, the project will be financed through a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with which the contract should be signed in December. The loan is worth 82 million euros.
The project is implemented through the project company Green Gvozd, which will be 100 % owned by EPCG. The company expects that it will obtain the construction permit within the next two months, which the connection permit from the transmission system operator CGES has already been obtained. The new deadline for the commissioning of Gvozd wind farm is 2024.
Wind farm Gvozd will have a total installed capacity of 55.4 MW and the expected annual electricity production of around 150 GWh.
In 2018, EPCG and Austrian Ivicom Holding signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the construction of Gvozd wind farm. However, last year EPCG agreed to acquire 100 % of project company’s capital.
