A tender for the construction of solar power plant at Velje Brdo site should be launched by the end of the year, said State Secretary at the Montenegrin Ministry of Economy Nikola Vujovic.
Vujovic said that the tender was supposed to be launched in the third quarter of 2020, but it was delayed due to coronavirus pandemic. He stressed that this project, along with already ongoing projects of Briska Gora solar power plant and wind farms Brajici and Gvozd, will be a strong impetus for the recovery of Montenegrin economy and further strengthening of its renewable sector.
He reminded that planned installed capacity of the plant should be 50 MW, however, potential investors pointed out that the site has much greater solar potential and could sustain power plant with installed capacity between 150 and 300 MW.
In May 2018, the Ministry of Economy has published a tender for a 30-year lease of more than 6 million square meters of land for the construction of solar power plant with power output of more than 200 MW. The minimum required bid for the solar plant project is 0.05 euros per square meter a year, or a total of some 330,000 euros annually, meaning that a 30-year lease would cost no less than 9.93 million euros. The land in question is at the location of Briska Gora near Ulcinj. In late 2018, consortium of EPCG and Finnish Fortum was selected as the winner of the tender.
The first stage of the project envisages the construction of 50 MW solar power plant within 18 months from the date of the signing of the contract. The second stage envisages the increase of installed capacity to 200 MW, which should be done within 24 months from the completion of the first stage of the project. According to latest announcements, the construction of the first stage should start by the end of 2020.
