Bosnian Region Approves First Wind Farm Projects
The government of Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation on Wednesday gave approval to three companies to start building wind farms with combined capacity of 138 megawatts (MW), the first such renewable energy projects in the Balkan country.
The projects to provide Bosnia's first wind power capacity are designed to diversify energy sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Bosnia generates 40 percent of its electricity from hydro and the rest from coal-fired plants. Unlike other Balkans countries that rely on imports to cover much of their demand, Bosnia is able to export power largely thanks to its hydro capacity.
The move will allow Bosnia's top power utility EPBiH to build a 48 MW Podvelezje wind farm in southern Bosnia at an estimated cost of 140 million marka ($76 million).
Germany's state-owned development bank KfW had already approved a 65 million euro ($68.99 million) loan for the project, while the remainder of funds will be secured by the majority state-run EPBiH.
The remaining two construction permits have been issued to local developers Koncig and F.L. Wind. Koncig's planned Debelo Brdo wind farm is expected to have capacity of 54 MW, while F.L.Wind's Jelovaca wind park has planned capacity of 36 MW.
The projects are both in southeast Bosnia and are expected to cost 83 million euros and 26 million euros respectively.
Several developers seek to add a further 320 MW in wind capacity in Bosnia's two autonomous regions, the Federation and the Serb Republic, over the coming years.
Reporting by Maja Zuvela
