The plan is to build 20 pillars with wind turbines within the wind farm. The start of construction is planned for 2019, and production of the first kilowatt-hours is expected in 2020.
The public company “Elektroprivreda Srbije” and the German development bank KfW signed on November 29 a loan agreement of 80 million euros for financing the project of building a wind farm in Kostolac.
– We are starting to implement the construction of the wind farm in Kostolac and thus EPS, the entire Serbian energy system and Serbia, are going to fulfill certain obligations to increase the share of renewable energy sources in total consumption. First wind farm which EPS will build is a significant investment worth about 97 million euros – said Milorad Grčić, General Director of EPS, when signing the contract.
Grčić announced that the start of construction is planned in 2019 and that production of the first kilowatt-hours is expected in 2020.
– The total power of the wind farm will be 66 megawatts, which is enough for the supply of around 30,000 households – said Grčić.
EPS will provide about 15 million euros of its own funds for the project implementation. The plan is to raise 20 pillars within the wind farm wind turbines. It will be built in the area of closed pit mines and landfills of EPS branch “TE-KO Kostolac”. Expected annual production in EPS’s wind farm is about 150 million kilowatt-hours.
– EPS is involved in projects for using wind energy for electricity production and together with hydropower projects will contribute to Serbia by 2020, to reach a European commitment to obtain 27% of the total energy consumption from renewable sources. The wind farm in Kostolac is not within the 500 MW quota of wind power with a favorable price, but this is a new quality that contributes to meeting the obligations of Serbia – said Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia.
Antić pointed out that projects in the energy sector are in the total value of three billion euros, out of which projects implemented by EPS amount to about two billion euros.
– Vetropark in Kostolac is financed by Serbian-German cooperation. Very good partnerships with EPS, the Ministry of Mining and Energy and the Ministry of Finance have enabled this project to be launched. The new EPS wind farm paves the way for greater use of renewable energy sources in Serbia. The realization of the project will allow 120,000 tons to be reduced by the amount of carbon dioxide emissions – said Arne Gos, the director of the KfW office in Belgrade.
The loan repayment period is up to 15 years, including a grace period of four years, and a fixed interest rate of 0.85 percent annually. A special agreement was signed with KfW Bank on the earmarked donation for EPS in the amount of EUR 1 million. In accordance with the rules of the bank, donation money is intended for hiring experts for planning and managing capacities, additional monitoring of birds and bats and supplementing the assessment of the environmental impact.
180 meters
Pillars with wind generators should be placed at four locations – Klenovnik, Ćirikovac, Petka and Drmno. The height of the columns will be 117 meters, and the radius elise 63 meters. The total height of the wind turbine will be 180 meters.
