Montenegro eyes summer start of 55 MW Gvozd wind project - report

Once the contract is signed, the contractor will have 18 months to build the plant, EPCG's executive director, Ivan Bulatovic, told local daily Vijesti in an interview earlier this week.

He added that the tender procedure for selecting a contractor has been in progress. At the same time, in April EPCG opened the bids for the supply of wind turbines for the project and has been in talks with German wind turbines supplier Nordex.

"We expect to get eight turbines of 6.8 MW each, which will let us expand the project by an additional 22-25 MW in a second phase," Bulatovic said.

Last year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is lending EPCG 82 million euro ($88 million) to help it finance the acquisition, construction and operation of its first wind farm that will be built near the village of Gvozd in the western municipality of Niksic.

The project is developed by EPCG and Green Gvozd, a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) that EPCG had acquired from Austria's Ivicom Holding.

The project involves the construction of the 55 MW Gvozd 1 wind farm with an annual production of 150 GWh, with a possibility of building Gvozd 2 that will add an additional 22-25 GW, according to Bulatovic.

($ = 0.931 euro)