The investment cycle of Electric Power Industry of Serbia is happening in all branches across Serbia and sets the foundation for modernization and improvement of business, which will continue with even greater intensity. Investment activities have started rolling over the last three and a half years. Past projects on the brink of termination or without proper documentation and permits were restarted with a lot of effort by EPS management and experts. EPS fulfils its obligation to preserve and modernize its existing capacities, but also to secure Serbia’s energy security by building new ones.
Among the most significant projects is the construction of a new 350 MW unit in Kostolac, worth USD 613 million. It is the first major power generation facility of EPS in the past three decades. The construction of the new unit is part of a larger project, which also included the purchase of a bucket-wheel excavator-belt conveyer system-spreader enabling the increase of coal production at the Drmno mine, valued at EUR 97.6 million.
Implementation of the first green project is coming to a close at the Kolubara Mining Basin and is aimed at improving the technology of coal mining and lignite quality homogenization. The total value of this project is about EUR 154 million, which will enable more efficient operation of thermal power plants and reduce adverse environmental impacts.
Production in the Kolubara Mining Basin started in Field G, with a total investment of EUR 160 million, together with the opening of Fields E and Radljevo, valued at some EUR 1.4 billion.
Projects for greater use of renewable energy have a significant share in the investment cycle. The largest new capacity among them is a 66-megawatt wind farm to be built in Kostolac. The project was inherited without any permission is now in the contractor selection phase according to international criteria. The value of the project is around EUR 100 million and a total of 20 wind turbines will be erected inside the area of the closed mines and overburden dumps of the TE-KO Kostolac branch.
The capacity and service life of the largest hydroelectric power plant in Serbia, HPP Djerdap 1, will be increased after revitalization by 10 percent and 40 years, respectively. Works on the last, sixth unit are expected soon. The plan is also to revitalize all 10 units of HPP Djerdap 2, with 50 new megawatts of electricity generation capacity on the Danube.
The revitalization project of HPP Zvornik, valued at some EUR 63 million, is nearing completion. After all four units have been revitalized, the capacity of the Zvornik hydroelectric power plant will be increased by 30 percent and reach 125.6 MW. Complete technical documentation for the revitalization of HPP Bistrica, Vlasina HPPs, HPP Potpec and HPP Bajina Basta has been prepared.
On the green road
Each EPS investment project incorporates environmental promotion measures as part of responsible and sustainable business operations. EPS has invested around EUR 400 million in projects improving the quality of air, water and soil over the last 15 years. In doing so, EPS has taken a leading position in Serbia and plans to pursue the green road through environmental investments worth more than EUR 800 million.
Source: EPS Energija
