Serbia's RHPP Bajina Basta undergoes 35 mln euro revamp

Works began on April 1 and will include a revamp of RHPP Bajina Basta's mechanical and electrical equipment, power control unit systems and electric brakes, among others, EPS's acting director general Dusan Zivkovic said in a statement last week after visiting the plant.

The ongoing overhaul will take place at two of the plant's four turbines. The rehabilitation of the first turbine should be completed by the end of 2024, while the revamp of the second unit will be completed in 2025, Zivkovic said.

RHPP Bajina Basta is located on the Drina river, on the Serbian border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. It comprises four units of 105 MW each, or an overall 420 MW. The plant was commissioned in 1966.

Serbia plans to develop a second pump-storage hydropower plant - the 628 MW Bistrica RHPP, which will be the largest new energy facility in the country and will be of major importance for balancing and storing electricity output.

Earlier in May, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said that Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to help finance the construction of RHPP Bistrica, valued at some 1 billion euro. Preparatory works on the project are set to start in 2025, with the goal to complete the plant by 2031.

Bistrica RHPP will be located on the Uvac/Lim river basins in western Serbia.

($ = 0.926 euro)