Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedovic, Siemens Gamesa’s Director of Wind Farms for Europe Christian Esiger and Karsten Sandhop, Director of the German Development Bank (KfW) office in Belgrade, recently reviewed the progress of the Kostolac wind farm construction. The meeting, which also included Dusan Zivkovic, General Director of power utility EPS, focused on the project’s timeline, progress reports, and scheduled a high-level meeting with Siemens for October.
Minister Djedovic highlighted that the Kostolac wind farm, with a capacity of 66 MW, will be Serbia’s first wind energy facility operated by the state-owned EPS. This project is expected to reduce coal dependency and improve environmental quality. She noted that the project has secured significant funding, including a €30 million EU grant—one of the largest grants in Serbia—along with additional support from KfW Bank. The Minister emphasized the importance of overcoming on-site challenges and accelerating construction to ensure the wind farm connects to the grid on schedule.
The state has completed its permit obligations, and the focus now shifts to the contractor to meet the timeline. Some equipment has already arrived, with the remainder en route from Spain, Turkey and China. The wind farm is expected to be operational by early 2025.
The financing agreement for the Kostolac wind farm was finalized in early 2024. The €144 million project is financed through a €80 million loan from KfW, a €30 million EU grant via the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), and €32.2 million from EPS. This agreement marks a significant milestone toward realizing Serbia’s first major wind energy project.
