It is realistic to expect the start of the construction of hydro power plant “Buk Bijela” on Drina in a year, since it is expected for the main project to be completed, said the director of “Elektroprivreda RS” Branislava Milekić.
Implementation of the project that was initiated several years ago was announced by the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Petar Đokić, noting that in fifteen days the Government would give “Elektroprivreda” and “Hydro power plant Višegrad” the concession for the construction of “Buk Bijela”. The value of the investment according to the preliminary project design is approximately 195 million euro, and its planned installed capacity is 93.5 MW.
The beginning of the realization of the investment mostly depends on the completion of the main design which requires a minimum of six months.
– We already have a significant project documentation on the level of conceptual design. This investment will allow the so far unexploited potential of Drina to be used for the production of clean energy, and energy from renewable sources – said Milekić.
She points out that it is a big investment that will be financed through loans.
– Since we have already done an environmental study and a solid part of project documentation, funds will not be difficult to obtain – Milekić is optimistic.
The construction of “Buk Bijela” is important for consumers too because “Elektroprivreda RS” will be getting a large amount of electricity from cheaper sources.
– The cost of electricity produced by hydro power plants are significantly lower than in thermal power plants. The realization of this investment would enable us to maintain the low price of electricity for end consumers – said Milekić.
The construction of hydro power plants would fully ensure the stability of the power system of the Republic Srpska.
– The capacity of thermal power plants “Ugljevik” and “Gacko”, which are more than 30 years old, is about 300 megawatts, and if one of them comes to an unplanned shut down, we would be forced to purchase electricity. With the construction of “Buk Bijela” this problem could be solved – says Milekić and adds that during the last major overhaul of hydro power plant “Dubrovnik” RS largely felt the lack of their own hydro power plants.
Preliminary design and feasibility study for the construction of hydro power plant “Buk Bijela” on the river Drina near Foča was developed by the Swiss company “Štuki”, and it was presented at the end of 2011. The plan was for the hydropower plant to be completed in five or six years. Earlier it was planned for four hydro ower plants to be built on Drina – “Buk Bijela”, “Foča”, “Paunci” and “Sutjeska” with a total capacity of 225 megawatts, and the investment value was estimated at 580 million euros, transmits Serbia-energy.eu