There is no electricity, and they don't know when it will

The key prerequisite for starting the construction of a solar power plant (SE) on Briska Gora near Ulcinj is the adoption of amendments to the Spatial-Urban Plan (PUP) for that municipality, and when that document will be adopted by the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Spatial Planning for "News ” was not specified.

Electricity from Briska Gora was supposed to flow at the end of 2021, and authorities from several governments are responsible for the fact that the PUP has not yet been completed.

Department managed by the minister Ana Novaković Đurović has a deadline for the planning document to be completed by January 12, 2023, which, according to unofficial information from "Vijesti", is highly questionable. Even if it were completed, according to the earlier plan, there would be no electricity from Briska Gora for at least another year and a half, that is, until the middle of 2024.

Novaković Đurović announced that the changes to the PUP are in the draft phase, on which, in accordance with Articles 28 and 29 of the Law on Spatial Planning and Building Construction, the opinions of competent institutions and the Council for the Review of Planning Documents are being collected.

After that, the Government should determine the draft plan and conduct a public hearing.

"After the public hearing, a report is prepared, which requires the positive opinion of the Audit Council. After that, a proposal for a planning document is prepared, which is submitted to the authorities for technical conditions for approval, and after obtaining approval, the plan is adopted by the Government. As all relevant activities are conditioned by opinions in accordance with the law, we cannot define a precise date for the adoption of this plan", the Ministry announced to "News".

Incomplete spatial planning documentation is the key reason for the delay in the investment that should be realized by the consortium consisting of Elektroprivreda (EPCG), Fortum and Sterling&Wilson.

Five contract annexes

The contract for the lease of land for the construction of SE on Briska Gora between the Government and the company's consortium was signed at the end of 2018. According to earlier announcements by EPCG, it was planned that the realization of the investment would begin in 2020, and production at the end of 2021, which did not happen. To date, the contract has been annexed five times and, according to the last annex from April of this year, the deadline for the beginning of the land lease was moved to December 31 of this year.

The construction of the SE is planned in two phases - the first includes the construction and connection of a 50 MW solar power plant with accompanying infrastructure and its connection to the system and expected annual production of around 90 GWh, while the second includes the construction of an additional 200 MW with accompanying infrastructure and connection to the system, expected annual production of about 360 GWh.

The investment is worth about 210 million euros, of which the value of the first phase is about 46 million euros, and it is planned to employ at least 226 workers.

"In the presented program of the Government, the construction project of SE Briska Gora is recognized as a priority and it is to be expected that the spatial planning prerequisites, i.e. the preparation of the spatial planning document by the aforementioned planning team under the jurisdiction of Minister Ana Novaković Đurović, will be created before the scheduled deadline of 12 months, because the adoption of the spatial plan and confirmation of connection is a prerequisite for the further implementation of project activities and the final start of the construction of SE Briska Gora", was officially told to "News" in EPCG.

The Regulatory Agency for Energy and Utilities (REGAGEN) in its latest report on the state of the energy sector for the past year warned that activities on the implementation of that project must be accelerated.

"At the session on November 17, 2021, the government made a decision on drafting amendments to the PUP of the Municipality of Ulcinj, Article 4 of which stipulates that the deadline for drafting this act is 12 months from the date of signing the contract with the manager of the planning document (12 January 2023). The current dynamics of the activities carried out on this project, while appreciating the aforementioned decision of the Government and the absence of investment on this basis by EPCG in 2021, indicates the need to intensify activities on the realization of this project. This is in order not to jeopardize the closure of the electricity balance planned by the long-term energy balance for the period 2023-2025, which foresees the commissioning of the first phase of SE Briska gora," warned the Agency.

No investment in 2021.

According to EPCG data on the realization of investments in 2021, there were no investments in SE Briska Gora.

The EPCG said that in May 2018, the Ministry of Economy published a public call for the leasing of land owned by the state, with a total area of ​​6.621.121 square meters, in the Briska Gora location, for the design, construction, use and maintenance of SE with an installed capacity of greater of 200 mwc.

"On October 18, 2018, the offer of the consortium consisting of EPCG, Fortum Corporation Finland and Sterling & Wilson International Solar FZCO was selected as the first-ranked by the Tender Commission, and the contract with the equipment supplier and contractor (EPC contract) Sterling & Wilson for the construction SE. The fifth amendment to the land lease agreement was signed on April 20 of this year," explained EPCG.

The fifth annex foresees the extension of the lease term until the end of this year, the term for the construction of the first phase is 18 months, and for the second 36 months from the date of signing the contract on the remaining land that is the subject of a public invitation.

"The adopted EPCG business plan foresees that Phase I will be put into operation in 2024. The land lease agreement and its annexes define the necessary activities and preconditions for its entry into force, which stipulates as a condition the adoption of spatial planning documentation necessary for the realization of the project in stages. The public hearing for amendments to the Ulcinj PUP in the part that defined the connection of Phase I to the transmission network was held on July 2020, XNUMX," EPCG said.

Adopted, then canceled the plan

As they explained, in October of that year, the Government adopted amendments to the Ulcinj PUP, which created spatial and planning conditions for the start of the implementation of the contract related to the construction of the first phase, and then in March of the following year, it invalidated the conclusions which refer to the adoption of these changes and additions to the PUP, on the proposal of the then Minister of Spatial Planning Ratko Mitrović.

"Thus, the planning prerequisite for the implementation of Phase II, as well as the connection of Phase I, without which it cannot be implemented, has been abolished," the energy company pointed out, adding that the expert teams of the consortium defined the solution for the connection of the first phase, which was approved by the Montenegrin Electric Transmission System.

In November 2021, the government passed a new decision on the drafting of amendments to that planning document, which will be followed, as explained by the EPCG, with the drafting of strategic environmental impact assessments.

In the consortium that is to build SE on Briska Gora, the ownership structure is as follows - Fortum 49 percent, EPCG 49 percent and S&W two percent.

The contract defines the rent in the amount of 0,33 cents per square meter, i.e. a total of 966.980 euros for the land for the first phase and 1.217.989 euros for the land for the second phase.

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It is an investment worth millions of euros, and it is planned to employ at least 226 workers

Municipality of Ulcinj "has nothing to do with it"

The President of the Municipality of Ulcinj, Omer Bajraktari, said that amendments to the PUP for that municipality are in the draft stage. He stated that the Ministry of Spatial Planning, which worked on the draft, should soon put it up for public discussion.

"For now, the municipality has nothing to do with it, but we will see when there is a public hearing." We will certainly have an influence on the final proposal, before its adoption", said Bajraktari to "Vijesta".

Considering the situation in the country, he stated that he did not know when the agreed proposal could be adopted.

Another interlocutor of "Vijesti", who was informed about this project, said that the Government is bringing plans and that now everything has somehow stopped, but he doubts that the planning documentation is the main reason why the implementation of the project is delayed.

At the session held on January 24 this year, the Government tasked the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism with speeding up activities on the preparation of the planning documentation necessary for the implementation of the projects for the construction of the power plant on the site of Briska Gora and the wind farm on Brajići

EPCG invested 67,15 million in the energy sector in seven years

The report on the state of the energy sector for 2021, which was prepared by the Energy Regulatory Agency, showed that the state's investments in the energy sector implemented by EPCG last year fell compared to the comparative annual period.

The total investments of EPCG in the last year amounted to 11,75 million euros, and the largest part of that amount, in the amount of 8,06 million euros, was invested in the modernization and extraordinary maintenance of hydroelectric plants Perućica (phase II) and Piva (phase II), as well as at the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant and the reclamation of the Maljevac landfill.

Compared to 2020, the energy company's investments last year were 10 million euros lower. EPCG's total investments in 2020 were 21,74 million euros, and the largest part of that amount, in the amount of 14,82 million euros, was invested in production capacities and as an advance for the ecological reconstruction of the Pljeval Thermal Power Plant.

According to the data from the report, EPCG invested a total of 2016 million euros in the period from 2021 to 67,15, i.e. an average of 11,19 million per year.