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BiH; Mesihovina wind farm turns turbines on

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The first large-scale wind farm in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mesihovina, located near the town of Tomislavgrad, should be officially put into operation on 14 March 2018.

Last August, the power company “Elektroprivreda Hrvatske Zajednice Herceg Bosna”, the investor of the project, announced that the installation of wind turbines had started, following the completion of the construction of access roads and crane platforms by Austrian Strabag. Twenty two wind 44 MW turbines were supplied by Siemens for this wind farm.

It is a facility located in the central part of the Municipality of Tomislavgrad with a total power of 50.6 MW and an annual output of about 165 GWh.

“With an average household consumption of 6,000 kilowatt hours per year, WF Mesihovina can supply around 27,500 households with electricity,” said Marinko Gilja, general manager of EP HZHB.

He reminded that this company started the project “Analysis of possibilities of using wind energy in electricity production in BiH in 2004”. Within the same project, the wind strength was measured in ten locations, of which three were selected as the most promising ones; Mesihovina was given priority.

“The total value of the investment is about 82 million euros, of which the largest part, or 72 million euros, refers to the loan of the German State Development Bank,” added Gilja.

According to him, Elektroprivreda HZ HB is the only electricity company in BiH that produces electricity, exclusively from renewable sources.

“There are seven hydropower plants in our system, and now we have one wind farm. So, our benefit from the WF Mesihovina is great, especially considering the fact that, by building our production capacities, we reduce energy imports. Also, we become more successful market competitors and, of course, from our capacities, we ensure quality and reliable delivery of electricity to a larger number of our customers. We are the first in BiH to realize the use of wind energy, and we are proud of that, because, following new technologies, we are moving towards modern energy priorities, preserving the environment and natural resources,” concluded Gilja.

According to the plan, BiH will soon get more wind farms. In October 2017 Bosnia’s IMRES Smart Greenergy and Turkish engineering firm Enprode signed a contract for the construction of a 51-MW-wind farm and for research to build a 1 120 MW reversible hydroelectric power plant, which could be the largest of its kind in Southeast Europe.

The value of the investment is 1.6 billion euros and has been secured by Enprode. Both projects have the same name, “Široka Draga” and are located near the Kamesnica mountain, not too far away from Mesihovina..

Some 3,000 people are expected to be employed. The timeframe for the completion of the wind park is between three to five years.

Also, last November, BiH Minister of Finance and Treasury, Vjekoslav Bevanda, and the Director of the German Development Bank KfW in BiH, Matthias Schmidt-Rosen, signed a €60 million worth loan agreement in Sarajevo, for the construction of the “Hrgud” wind farm, in the Republika Srpska…./IBNA

Source: balkaneu

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