State-owned power utility EPS has started testing the switchgear at the Kostolac wind farm, the company’s first wind energy project with an installed capacity of 66 MW. The tests are being carried out by teams from the transmission system operator EMS and mark a crucial step before the facility can be connected to Serbia’s national grid.
The first power-up of the wind farm is expected by the end of September, followed by the activation of the substation and transmission circuits. Once this stage is completed, individual turbines will undergo testing, leading to trial operations and, eventually, the full commissioning of the entire facility.
The Kostolac wind farm covers the areas of Drmno, Petka, Cirikovac, and Klenovnik. Its development is significant as it repurposes an exhausted mining dump into a renewable energy site, turning degraded land into productive use while minimizing environmental impact. The facility is expected to generate around 187 GWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of approximately 30,000 households.
The project is financed through a combination of a 110 million euro loan from the German development bank KfW, 30 million euros in EU grants via the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), and additional funding from EPS. Beyond expanding EPS’s renewable energy portfolio, the Kostolac wind farm represents a key milestone in Serbia’s energy transition, supporting decarbonization objectives and increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s electricity production.
