Montenegro Invites Bidders to Build Four Small Hydropower Plants

“The Government of Montenegro intends to develop the country’s untapped hydropower potential through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). As a priority, the Government wants to develop the Moraca River potential through a series of four hydroelectric power plants,” the Economy Ministry said in a notice on Monday.

The four plants will produce 693 gigawatthours annually, the statement added.

Companies and consortia with experience in the design, financing, construction and operation of large-scale hydropower projects can express their interest by December 1, the ministry said. 

The government has already conducted geological and technological studies for the project and will complete a due diligence, a detailed spatial plan and an  environmental assessment by the end of February.

Montenegro has nine small hydropower plants, which together generate some 200 million kilowatthours (kWh) annually, or around one percent of the country's electricity production.

There are two big hydropower plants in the country, Perucica and Piva, which have a combined capacity of 650 MW and generate some two billion kWh annually. Montenegro's annual power consumption exceeds four billion kWh.