The beginning of the preparatory works for the construction of the Kostolac wind farm – with a power of 66 megawatts, in the villages of Ćirikovac, Klenovnik, Petka and Drmno – was marked by geomechanical soil investigations, which also include boreholes in the places where the wind generator, substation and connecting switchgear are planned to be installed.
The mentioned researches are necessary, because they should show the quality and stability of the soil, and indicate the potential occurrence of underground water. After their completion, based on the obtained results, the design will be carried out.
It is expected that the construction of the foundations of the wind towers will begin in February next year. 20 wind generators and 20 poles are planned, as well as the construction of a substation, switchgear and internal cable network. And, the next step is the distribution plant and the substation, which will be located at the Drmno location, while the construction of roads that has begun is a prerequisite for physical access to each position of the wind generator – says project manager Predrag Đorđević.
According to the contract signed in April, the equipment will be delivered by Siemens Games for EUR 103.7 million. Its transport will be carried out by special trucks with 10 axles, about 60 meters long – along the route from the port of Smederevo to each of the four locations. The deadline for the completion of all works expires in September 2024, when the entire plant should be put into operation. Then comes the turn of obtaining a use permit.
The feasibility study predicts that the annual production will exceed 150 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.
Pilot project
The construction of the Kostolac wind farm is an EPS pilot project – the first of its kind implemented by this company.
– It is good that in the TE-KO Kostolac branch we have a large area, about five square kilometers of land owned by the Electric Power Company of Serbia, which is one of the prerequisites for building a plant where energy will be obtained from renewable sources – Predrag Đorđević points out.
Subs of about 180 meters
The columns with wind generators, including their propellers, will reach a height of about 180 meters, and will be placed in the area of closed surface mines and landfills of the TE-KO Kostolac branch, Blic reports.