The construction works on Krnovo wind farm have been recently completed and it is expected that it will begin trial operation in early 2017, after the completion of obtaining the use permit.
Legal advisor of the investor – Krnovo Green Energy, Luka Popovic said in an interview that the construction of the wind farm went on schedule and the project is currently in stage of technical acceptance. He stressed that the use permit will be obtained by the end of December and following the trial operation of two to three months, wind farm could be officially commissioned, adding that this project would significantly contribute in reaching the target of 33 % of energy from renewable sources in total consumption by 2020.
Previously, Montenegrin Ministry of Economy said that, according to the agreement, Krnovo wind farm has to be put into operation before 7 May 2017. The state committed that the purchases of electricity produced by the wind farm will be guaranteed and that the the price will be fixed for the first 12 years of operation, and it will not be less than 95.99 euros/MWh. Estimated average annual production of this 72 MW wind farm is 215,000 MWh, therefore, according to the current price of electricity of 38 euros/MWh, total annual subsidy for Krnovo wind farm would amount to 12.7 million euros, which will be paid by end consumers. State land has been leased for the period of 20 years, with an option of extension of up to five years.
Krnovo wind farm will have power output of 72 MW, and it is expected to produce between 200 and 230 GWh of electricity per year, which is about 8 % of the national output. Electricity output should be enough to supply nearly 20,000 households. The investors of this project are Austiran Ivicom and Akuo Energy SAS from France. The project is worth about 120 million euros and it is partially financed through loans provided by the German KfW Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
