The completion of five tender procedures led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the signing of a contract with the German company Nordex on the conditions for the delivery of eight wind turbines, the draft of which needs to be approved by the EBRD and the board of directors of Elektroprivreda (EPCG), are conditions that must be met to the construction of the "Gvozd" wind farm near Nikšić could begin.
This means that the first kilowatts from this wind farm could be expected in the middle of 2026, if all the procedures are completed within the stipulated time. This power plant will be the first new large state producer of electricity since the opening of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant in 1982.
These are tenders for the procurement, delivery, installation and commissioning of wind generators and long-term maintenance, construction works on plateaus and foundations of wind generators, construction of internal roads, execution of works on the internal medium voltage network and connection of wind generators, connection to the transmission network and the selection of an implementation consultant .
"It is realistic to expect that the works will begin after the signing of all the contracts related to the construction of the Gvozd hydropower plant, which we can expect in about four to six weeks at the moment. The deadline for the construction of the power plant is 18 months after the start of the works", said the state energy company "Vijesta".
In the first announcement of this project, EPCG announced the expected start of the construction of the "Gvozd" hydropower plant in 2021, and the commissioning 18 months after the start of the works. However, it was later clarified that the coronavirus pandemic is the key reason for the delay in the construction of the wind farm, as it affected the acquisition of the necessary permits, consents and negotiations on the financing of this project, and that it is realistic that this facility will be online in 2024.
VIDEO green-gvozd.com
The state energy company received the main construction permit for the construction of the "Gvozd" power plant in July last year.
The total planned installed capacity of the "Gvozd" wind farm will be 54,6 megawatts (MW) with an expected annual production of about 150 gigawatt hours (GWh) and will cover the needs of 25.000 households.
The project will be financed from a loan from the EBRD, with which the loan agreement was signed in June last year. The loan is worth 82 million euros.
The project is implemented through the project company "Green Gvozd", which will be 100 percent owned by EPCG.
"All tender procedures are conducted on the electronic procurement portal of the EBRD (ECEPP) in accordance with their procedures. In the process are tender 1 - WTG (procurement, delivery, installation and commissioning of wind generators and long-term maintenance), tender 2 - C-BoP (Construction work on plateaus and foundations of wind generators, construction of internal roads), tender 3 - E-BoP (Performance of works on the internal medium voltage network and connection of wind generators), tender 4 - Connection to the transmission network and tender 5 - Implementation Consultant. Tender procedures are in the final stage. In this regard, it should be noted that the tender procedure for C-BoP (Performance of construction works on plateaus and foundations of wind generators, construction of internal roads) which was launched on 21/5/2024 is in appeal procedure. Namely, after the end of the evaluation procedure, the EBRD Bank approved the evaluation report on August 19, 8. In accordance with the tender documentation and the EBRD Bank's guidelines, one of the bidders filed an appeal against the results within the prescribed period, September 2024, 10. evaluation. The process of evaluation of the appeal by the EBRD commission in accordance with their procedures is ongoing. After the decision on the appeal is made, all contracts are expected to be signed with the selected bidders according to the announced tender procedures", EPCG said.
The state energy company also states that negotiations on the contract with the German company Nordex are in the final stage.
"The contract negotiations, which include technical, legal and commercial aspects, were held in Hamburg on September 18 and 19 this year. The final meetings under this contract are planned for October 4, while the signing of the contract is expected after the approval of the draft contract by the EBRD bank and the Board of Directors of EPCG", EPCG said.
The project activities for the construction of VE "Gvozd" include the phased construction and commissioning, typical plateaus for the assembly of wind turbines and foundations on which the wind turbine poles will be placed, transformer stations 33/110 kV Gvozd at the project location, reconstruction of the transformer station 33/110 kV Krnovo , then the construction of a single transmission line 110 kV TS Gvozd - TS Krnovo, length 3125 m, as well as the construction of a single transmission line 110 kV TS Gvozd - TS Nikšić, length 14730 and reconstruction of the transformer station 35/110 kV Nikšić.
The wind farm will pay for itself
The construction of VE "Gvozd" and the necessary infrastructure for connection to the electric power system of Montenegro will be fully financed from credit funds without the anticipated participation of investors, with an appropriate grace period during construction, so that the project will essentially pay for itself.
EPCG explained that according to the loan agreement, the EBRD is obliged to pay the amount of the Loan in accordance with the development of the project and at the borrower's request if the defined conditions for withdrawal of funds are met in a manner that is satisfactory to the EBRD in terms of form and substance.
"After the signing of the contract according to the tender procedures, the conditions will be created for the withdrawal of money from the loan in the first iteration for all advances provided for in the contracts", EPCG said.
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