June 13 (SeeNews) - The Croatian arm of Germany's wpd - wpd Adria, plans to invest 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) in building an integrated system of wind parks in the Livno-Grahovo-Knin area, which lies in Croatia and neighbouring Bosnia, local media reported.
The company is preparing to carry out measurements in the area to evaluate its wind potential, Zoran Obradovic, a representative of wpd Adria, told news wire eKapija on Wednesday.
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"Based on our experience in some projects we have developed in nearby areas, we expect that the results will be favourable since the locations are good," Obradovic said.
"The plan is to install 900 MW in Bosnia and 300 MW in Croatia. In total, this integrated system of wind parks would have an installed capacity of 1.2GW."
The plan is to start construction works in three-four years and complete the project in 2030, Obradovic said.
He added that the electricity grids of the two countries will probably need some 200 million euro investment, which could come from European funds since the aim is to create a single European power market.
The investment in wind turbines and equipment, however, will come exclusively from wpd, which typically finances 20-30% of the projects by own funds and takes bank loans for the remainder, Obradovic said.
wpd Adria already has four wind farms in Croatia - two in the area of Sibenik, one on the Peljesac peninsula and one close to Sestanovac. They have a combined capacity of 100 MW.
In Bosnia, they also plan to develop a 50 MW wind farm in Ravno, in the country's south, and have been measuring the wind potential at the location. According to Obradovic, works on the Ravno project could start in three years.
($=0.8868 euro)