Battlefield terrain in Bosnian wind war: Site for the proposed 51 MW wind park at Trusina in the municipalities of Nevesinje and Berkovići, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (This map is a composite of parts of Vojnogeografski Institut 1:25,000 topographic maps “575-3-1 (Udrežnje)” (1974) and “575-3-2 (Zovi Do)” (1974). The center of the section shown here corresponds approximately to 43° 9’ N, 18° 8’ E.)
In this issue: Moldova and Cyprus have been included for the first time, along with new information sources for Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Overview by technology: Large, ground-mounted PV parks are being developed and built primarily in Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece, although the new FITs that recently went into effect in Republika Srpska (Bosnia) may lead to a boom in investor-sized PV installations there. In wind, large wind projects are inching forward throughout the Balkans, but the greatest construction is taking place in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece. Small hydro plants are being developed and constructed throughout the mountainous areas of the central Balkans (Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, and to a lesser extent Serbia) and of the Caucasus (Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia). Biogas and biomass are moving forward in a quiet, scattered fashion throughout the region. Thermal solar is being developed only in Greece and Cyprus, while geothermal is being built in Greece and Turkey. Small-scale cogeneration is advancing at scattered points across the region, while large-scale cogeneration is strong primarily in Turkey.
Overview by area: Few large projects are moving forward in the Western Balkans (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia) with the notable exception of wind projects in Bosnia. Construction is strongest along the western coast of the Black Sea, in Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria, where both large wind and large PV facilities are being planned and built. East of the Bosporus thermal and hydro are strongest, but with a number of wind parks still being developed along the coastline of Turkey. In Turkey and the Caucasus PV is virtually unknown, but that will change as the line of PV grid parity creeps northward, with rapid growth perhaps to be seen in Turkey due to the government’s January 2011 plan to promote solar energy and its March 2012 decision to eliminate the requirement of a license for RES plants below 500 kW.
Largest and smallest plants/projects mentioned in this issue:
Biogas: 4.2 MW (Slovenia), 0.2 MW (Ukraine)
Biomass: 10 MW (Romania), 0.5 MW (Cyprus)
Cogeneration: 840 MW (Turkey), 0.006 MW (Slovenia)
Geothermal: 13 MW (Cyprus), 5.0 MW (Greece)
Hydroelectric: 115 MW (Bosnia), 0.05 MW (Romania)
Photovoltaic: 33 MW (Ukraine), 0.003 MW (Croatia)
Thermal solar: 33 MW (Greece), 1.0 MW (Greece)
Wind: 317 MW (Greece), 0.02 MW (Romania)
Contents
Slovenia
Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Republika Srpska
Montenegro
Albania
Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.)
Serbia
Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija
Ukraine
Autonomous Republic of Crimea
Moldova
Romania
Bulgaria
Greece
Turkey
Cyprus
Armenia
Georgia
_____________________________
Certificates of Origin
In December no new facilities were inscribed in the registry of facilities receiving certificates of origin.
Declarations of Renewable Energy Production Facilities
In December production 5-year facility declarations were issued for the following 106 renewable energy and high-efficiency cogeneration facilities:
Cogeneration: 6 facilities (0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, and 0.006 MW)
Photovoltaic: 100 facilities (0.96, 0.76, 0.35, 0.25, 0.18, 0.17, 0.17, 0.15, 0.13, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, ... 0.005 MW)
Licenses for Production of Electricity in Power Plants over 1 MW
In December a license for the production of electricity in a power plant of over 1 MW capacity was granted to 1 facility:
Biogas: 1 facility (4.2 MW, at a municipal landfill)
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December there were no EIA filings, public hearings, or approvals regarding renewable energy projects. The last renewable energy project to receive an environmental approval was a proposed wind park approved in March 2011.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
Between 2 December 2011 and 12 January 2012 a total of 5 plants that had already signed power purchase agreements were connected to the electrical grid and began receiving incentives:
Photovoltaic: 5 plants (0.10, 0.03, 0.01, 0.01, and 0.007 MW)
Between 2 December 2011 and 12 January 2012 the following 8 plants signed power purchase agreements without connecting yet to the grid:
Photovoltaic: 7 plants (0.03, 0.03, 0.03, 0.03, 0.01, 0.01, and 0.01 MW)
Wind: 1 plant (23 MW)
Decisions on Status as Eligible Producers
In December final decisions granting the status of eligible producer of renewable energy were given for 7 plants:
Photovoltaic: 7 plants (0.03, 0.02, 0.01, 0.01, 0.01, 0.007, and 0.005 MW)
In December preliminary decisions granting the status of eligible producer of renewable energy were given for 22 projects:
Photovoltaic: 22 projects (0.194, 0.119, 0.03, 0.03, 0.03, 0.03, 0.03, 0.03, 0.03, 0.01, ... 0.003 MW)
Energy Licenses
In December no licenses for the production of electrical energy were issued for renewable energy projects.
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December notices were published of requests for review filed by the owners of two existing wind parks. The requests for review regarded planned expansion phases for the two wind parks, i.e., the addition of 4 wind turbines of up to 3 MW each to a wind park located 30 km southeast of Zadar, and the addition of 3 turbines of 3 MW each and later of an additional 2 turbines of 3 MW each to a wind park located 60 km northeast of Zadar.
As a result of the Dayton Agreement of 1995, the nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serb Republic (“Republika Srpska”), and Brčko District.
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine / Федерација Босне и Херцеговине
Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine / Федерација Босне и ХерцеговинеLicenses for the Production of Electrical Energy & Decisions on Status of Qualified Producer
In December 5-year licenses for the production of electrical energy and the status of Qualified Producer of Electrical Energy were granted to 3 hydroelectric facilities:
Hydroelectric: 3 facilities (1.21, 0.99, and 0.50 MW)
The three facilities use, respectively, two 603 kW cross-flow turbines from CINK Hydro Energy k.s. (Czech Rep.), two 501 kW Francis turbines from Banstroj d.o.o. (Bosnia), and one 570 kW Pelton turbine from Conel Company d.o.o. (Bosnia).
Invitation of Public Comment on Proposed Energy Licenses
In December it was announced that written or oral comments by the public were being solicited regarding a draft license that had been prepared for the following 1 facility which had earlier applied for a license for energy production:
Hydroelectric: 1 facility (0.35 MW)
Initial License for Energy Facility Construction
In December one application was filed for an initial construction license, for the construction of a hydroelectric plant for which a concession was granted via a public tender in April 2011:
Hydroelectric: 1 project (0.65 MW)
Environmental Permits
In December an application for an environmental permit was submitted for the following renewable energy project:
Wind: 1 project (72 MW, consisting of 36 turbines of 2 MW each produced by the Czech turbine manufacturer Wikov Wind a.s.)
After a 15-day public comment period, later in the same month an environmental permit was granted to the same project.
In the News
Feed-in tariffs for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were revised on 28 December 2011 by means of a regulation promulgated by the government. The new levels for guaranteed purchase prices are as follows:
Facility type and installed capacity
|
Guaranteed purchase price in BAM/kWh
(BAM = Bosnian convertible mark) |
Converted into €
(at the rate of 1.00 BAM = € 0.511292) |
Solar
| ||
0 kW - 10 kW
10 kW - 30 kW
30 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.9195
0.8092
0.7356
0.5149
0.4659
0.3678
|
0.4701
0.4137
0.3761
0.2633
0.2382
0.1881
|
Wind
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1533
0.1533
0.1533
0.1533
|
0.0784
0.0784
0.0784
0.0784
|
Hydroelectric
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1434
0.1243
0.1238
No guaranteed price
|
0.0733
0.0636
0.0633
No guaranteed price
|
Solid biomass from forestry & agriculture
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1802
0.1778
0.1753
0.1729
|
0.0921
0.0909
0.0896
0.0884
|
Solid biomass from wood processing
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1753
0.1729
0.1704
0.1680
|
0.0896
0.0884
0.0871
0.0859
|
Geothermal
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1900
0.1864
0.1827
0.1778
|
0.0971
0.0953
0.0934
0.0909
|
Biogas
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1484
0.1459
0.1434
0.1410
|
0.0759
0.0746
0.0733
0.0721
|
Plants running on liquid biofuels
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1484
0.1459
0.1434
0.1410
|
0.0759
0.0746
0.0733
0.0721
|
Landfill gas
| ||
0 kW - 150 kW
150 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1520
0.1508
0.1496
0.1484
|
0.0777
0.0771
0.0765
0.0759
|
High-efficiency cogeneration
| ||
0 kW - 50 kW
50 kW - 1 MW
1 MW - 20 MW
> 20 MW
|
0.1631
0.1594
0.1533
0.1434
|
0.0834
0.0815
0.0784
0.0733
|
These guaranteed prices are paid to individual plants for a period of 12 years from the time they commence operation.
Also in the news, in December the government of a canton in central Bosnia granted to the electric utility company for the area a concession for the development of a wind park on a plateau within the canton. After research is carried out, the utility company plans to build a wind park of 50 MW (10 turbines of 5 MW each) at a cost of € 70 mln. The same canton had earlier signed in October a similar wind concession agreement with a consortium from Sarajevo and Istanbul, assigning to them too ten locations (10 x 5 MW = 50 MW) on the same plateau.
Republika Srpska 
Република Српска
Република СрпскаCertificates of Production
In December two incomplete applications were received for the issuance of certificates of production for renewable energy generation facilities, filed for hydroelectric plants of 3.9 MW and 0.06 MW, respectively. The former of the two applications became complete in January.
Licenses for Electricity Production
In December no licenses for electrical energy production were issued for renewable energy projects.
Environmental Permits
In December no environmental permits were issued for renewable energy projects.
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December no notices were posted concerning EIA screening decisions for renewable energy projects.
Concessions
On 15 December the government of Republika Srpska (“RS”), in its 44th session of 2011, adopted a resolution stating that it was in the public interest that a public tender be held for the granting of a concession for the construction of a 51 MW wind park in the area “Trusina” in the southeast of the country, on the border between the municipalities of Berkovići and Nevesinje. To date no wind parks have been built in RS, and this will be the government’s first concession for wind energy. The public tender will be held in conformity with articles 23-26 of the RS Law on Concessions, requiring, among other things, the completion of an economic feasibility study before the issuing of the public call for bids.
On the day following the decision, however, the journalist Predrag Klincov of the newspaper Nezavisne novine reported that sources at the town hall of Berkovići had revealed that the future wind park would be built by a firm from Belgrade, “Omega Plus d.o.o.”, which had already carried out wind studies in the area through its local subsidiaries in Berkovići and Nevesinje named “Eol” (i.e., “Wind”). This newspaper report was picked up and spread by other media in the region under a headline proclaiming that a businessman from Serbia would be building the first wind park in Republika Srpska.
Which version is correct? Will there be a fair, transparent public tender open to all, or has a tiny company in Belgrade already locked up the deal beforehand? Behind this apparently minor discrepancy regarding a single wind park of 51 MW lies a highly sophisticated, no-holds-barred war over who will control wind rights – and profits – in Republika Srpska.
The newspaper report that announced that the Belgrade firm Omega Plus would be building RS’s first wind park neglected to mention that Omega Plus’s local subsidiaries named “Eol” are in fact joint ventures of Omega Plus with the local municipal governments, or more formally “public-private partnerships”. In January 2010 the municipal council of the northern municipality, Nevesinje, adopted in open session a resolution in favor of the acquisition of a 3% interest in a subsidiary of Omega Plus in Nevesinje named “Eol Prvi d.o.o.” (i.e., “First Wind LLC”). The firm “Eol Prvi” came into being when, in April 2010, Omega Plus moved a pre-existing subsidiary located in Trebinje, “Vidin BT d.o.o.”, to Nevesinje and renamed it “Eol Prvi d.o.o.” Notice of the municipality of Nevesinje’s acquisition of shareholder status in Eol Prvi was officially published by the District Court in Trebinje in April 2010.
Likewise the firm “Eol Treći d.o.o.” (i.e., “Third Wind LLC”), headquartered in Berkovići, was founded in mid-2010 as a joint venture between Omega Plus and the municipality of Berkovići, with Omega Plus holding 97% of the shares and the municipal government the other 3%.
There is also a third municipality that is involved with Omega Plus. In March 2010 the Belgrade firm entered into another joint venture, this one named “Eol Drugi d.o.o.” (i.e., “Second Wind LLC”). Although this firm is also located in Nevesinje, the joint venture is not with the municipality of Nevesinje but with the municipality of Istočni Mostar (Eastern Mostar), once again with a relationship of 97% to 3%.
Omega Plus’s people on the ground have indeed been busy. In fact public records reveal that “Eol Prvi” has been working on the development of a series of wind parks in the municipality of Nevesinje totaling no less than an astonishing 648 MW:
WP Trusina: 44 x 3 MW = 132 MW
WP Grebak: 19 x 3 MW = 57 MW
WP Luka Kruševljani: 20 x 3 MW = 60 MW
WP Morine: 91 x 3 MW = 273 MW
WP Nekudine: 23 x 3 MW = 69 MW
WP Ruda Brda: 19 x 3 MW = 57 MW
Similarly “Eol Drugi” has been working on two projects totaling 207 MW in Istočni Mostar – at Golo Brdo (41 x 3 MW = 123 MW) and at Kamena (28 x 3 MW = 84 MW) – while “Eol Treći” has been working on one project in the municipality of Berkovići at Hrgud (43 x 3 MW = 129 MW). And the Belgrade firm’s subsidiaries are not the only companies developing wind projects in the area, since a German-backed company in Mostar is working on two projects totaling 74 MW in Nevesinje, and a Croatian-backed company in Glamoč is developing two projects totaling 86 MW in Berkovići.
This mad rush to get a foot in the door towards obtaining rights in the windiest parts of RS began to attract the attention of the RS government some time ago. Already in 2010 the RS ministry in charge of energy held a meeting with the mayors of the municipalities most active in wind development, advising these mayors of the government’s own activity in cooperation with the government of Germany and the public electrical utility for RS, “Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske”, warning of problems that might arise if the municipalities continued on their present course, and asserting that under RS law only the ministry responsible for energy and the Concessions Commission have the right to conduct activities involving electricity production, with the result that the municipalities have no legal basis for signing agreements with companies to explore wind energy possibilities.
But the municipalities pressed ahead, with outside firms erecting at least three wind measurement masts in the municipality of Berkovići alone. By June 2011, the electrical transmission operator for all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, NOS BiH, which keeps track of all projects that may need to hook up to the electrical grid in the future, was reporting that no less than 3,117 MW (3.1 GW) of wind capacity were in the pipeline, far beyond the country’s actual capacity for wind energy.
In July 2011 the government of RS began to put its foot down hard. On 3 July 2011 the journalist Predrag Klincov – the very same reporter who would write in December that the upcoming public tender for the 51 MW wind concession at Trusina would certainly be won by the firm Omega Plus of Belgrade – published an article in the newspaper Nezavisne novine exposing the chaotic situation in wind development in RS and the growing confrontation between the government and the southeastern municipalities. Among the persons he quoted for the article were the mayor of Berkovići, an unnamed source at the ministry responsible for energy, and the president of the Concessions Commission.
Among other things Klincov outlined an upcoming action whereby the RS government would use funds donated by the German government to have the German development bank KfW organize a program of wind measurements throughout RS: the project would involve the erection of wind masts and the collection of data at 6 locations, but the company that would carry out the measurements would be chosen through a public tender after the preparation of tender documentation. (The bank KfW is already involved in wind energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, being the primary funding source for what may be the first wind park in the other Bosnian entity – the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – a project of 44 MW to be built at Mesihovina, for which pre-qualification of potential turnkey contractors was carried out in 2011.) The RS government had already financed, in 2008, an academic study aimed at creating an initial wind atlas of RS: the results of that study were published in 2011 as the 20-page article “Wind Energy Use and Wind Energy Potential of the Republic of Srpska”. But while the earlier study needed to rely on satellite data because adequate wind measurement masts did not exist in RS, this new project involving KfW would fill the void by installing those masts.
Ten days after Klincov’s article, on 13 July, the RS government in fact approved a resolution appointing the German bank KfW to carry out a program of wind measurements throughout RS using € 600,000 in funds donated by the government of Germany. Five days later, the RS Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mining forwarded to 5 southeastern municipalities a resolution recently passed by the RS government which, among other things, commanded the municipalities to cease all joint activities with wind energy firms and dismantle all wind masts. After the Ministry and the bank KfW have had a full wind study carried out – and the RS authorities in charge of forests are ordered to permit 6 sites for wind masts to be made available on state-owned forest land – then the Ministry of Physical Planning and Ecology will define the locations of wind parks in the RS Spatial Plan through 2015.
The municipalities did not take this sitting down. On 15 August 2011 the Council of Association of Municipalities of Eastern Herzegovina, meeting at Berkovići, had the above government resolution read out and compared to a letter of 16 April 2010 that the head of the RS government, Milorad Dodik, had written to the EU ambassador in Bosnia in which he had written eagerly of the RS government’s desire to see “the construction of wind parks in the municipalities of Nevesinje, Istočni Mostar, and Berkovići.” The assembled municipalities decided that the two documents were contradictory, and voted to write a letter to the RS government calling for the revocation of this latest resolution. (During the discussions the mayor of East Mostar mentioned that their expectation was that each wind turbine installed would bring the local municipality 30,000-50,000 BAM (€ 15,000-25,000) per year in revenue.)
Finally, as we have seen, on 15 December 2011 the RS government voted to hold its first tender for wind energy, and to accomplish it via an open, public tender.
The situation is confused, and fluid. It is clear that the extremely aggressive activities of Omega Plus (and others), as well as the Belgrade firm’s savvy entry into joint ventures with the municipal governments – partnerships which at one and the same time locked out other firms and turned the municipal governments into potent lobbyists against the RS central government – have spurred the RS government to finally do something about wind energy development in an organized fashion. At the time of Klincov’s first article in July 2011 the government had already received 15 applications for wind concessions, but had acted on none of them. Although wind development and professional wind measurement have been underway for many years in the other Bosnian entity, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, until now the closest thing in existence to a wind survey of Republika Srpska is a mere 20-page study based on satellite data rather than direct wind measurements. So it is hardly surprising if private companies and local governments, lacking any data but seeing themselves missing out on revenue, decided to set up wind masts at their own expense. Nevertheless it seems clear that full-contact partnerships between local governments and foreign firms, starting at such an early stage in the development process, open the door to rampant overdevelopment and the possibility of bribe-taking.
In the near term, we can expect to see two wind tenders coming out of Republika Srpska before very long: one for the collection and analysis of wind data at six sites, and one for a concession for a 51 MW wind park in the Trusina area in the southeast of the country.
In the News
On 21 December a foreign firm presented to a hydroelectric utility company in the east of Bosnia a preliminary concept for a feasibility study for the construction of two hydroelectric projects, of 115 MW and 52 MW, respectively. The construction is predicted to take 5-6 years and cost € 312 mln. The utility stated that over the next six months there will be public hearings, revisions to the project, and the granting of a construction permit.
On 22 December a government decision containing Republika Srpska’s first feed-in tariffs (“guaranteed prices”) for renewable energy was published in the Службени гласник (Official Gazette). The decision entered into force 8 days after this official publication, and the FITs entered into force on 1 January 2012. (The original resolution, adopted by the Regulatory Commission for Energy on 25 October 2011, can be found here (PDF) or here (HTML).
The new levels for guaranteed purchase prices are as follows:
Facility type and installed capacity
|
Guaranteed purchase price paid for sales under the mandatory purchase system, in BAM/kWh (BAM = Bosnian convertible mark)
|
Guaranteed purchase price converted into €/kWh
(at the rate of 1.00 BAM = € 0.511292) |
Premium paid to producers for sales on the market or for own use, in BAM/kWh
|
Hydroelectric
| |||
≤ 1 MW
> 1 MW and ≤ 5 MW
> 5 MW and ≤ 10 MW
|
0.1468
0.1264
0.1186
|
€ 0.0751
€ 0.0646
€ 0.0606
|
0.0625
0.0421
0.0343
|
Wind
| |||
≤ 10 MW
> 10 MW
|
0.1652
0.1111
|
€ 0.0845
€ 0.0568
|
0.0809
0.0809
|
Photovoltaic Solar
| |||
≤ 50 kW
> 50 kW and ≤ 1 MW
> 1 MW
|
0.5357
0.4521
0.4013
|
€ 0.2739
€ 0.2312
€ 0.2052
|
0.4514
0.3678
0.3170
|
Power plants using solid biomass
| |||
≤ 1 MW
> 1 MW and ≤ 10 MW
|
0.1988
0.1730
|
€ 0.1016
€ 0.0885
|
0.1145
0.0887
|
Agricultural biogas
| |||
≤ 1 MW
|
0.2254
|
€ 0.1152
|
0.1411
|
Gas-fired power plants using efficient cogeneration
| |||
New plants ≤ 10 MW
New plants > 10 MW and ≤ 30 MW
New plants > 30 MW
Old plants ≤ 10 MW
Old plants > 10 MW and ≤ 30 MW
Old plants > 30 MW
|
0.1505
0.0964
0
0.1351
0.0810
0
|
€ 0.0769
€ 0.0493
€ 0
€ 0.0691
€ 0.0414
€ 0
|
0.0662
0.0662
0
0.0508
0.0508
0
|
Lignite-fired power plants using efficient cogeneration
| |||
New plants ≤ 10 MW
New plants > 10 MW and ≤ 30 MW
New plants > 30 MW
Old plants ≤ 10 MW
Old plants > 10 MW and ≤ 30 MW
Old plants > 30 MW
|
0.0882
0.0341
0
0.0541
0
0
|
€ 0.0451
€ 0.0174
€ 0.0277
€ 0
€ 0
€ 0
|
0.0039
0.0039
0
0
0
0
|
These guaranteed prices are paid to individual plants for a period of 15 years. The rates do not include VAT. Capital assumptions: total capital cost of 8.9% assuming 20% from own funds and 80% from borrowed funds. The payback period for the investment is taken to be 15 years for all types of renewable energy plants.
Analysis: Attentive readers will have noticed that these FITs contain no size limit either for wind or for solar facilities. In fact in the Western Balkans only Bosnia & Herzegovina has FITs for solar that do not contain any limit for the capacity of ground-mounted solar installed. Slovenia has a limit of 5 MWp nationwide on new ground-mounted PV being admitted to incentives in any year, Croatia has a nationwide limit of 1 MWp on all incentivized PV nationwide, Montenegro offers incentives only for building-mounted PV, Albania has no incentives at all for solar energy, Serbia has a nationwide cap of 5 MWp while in Kosovo the authorities in Prishtina have established no incentives at all for solar, and Macedonia has a nationwide cap of 8 MWp with incentives only for individual plants of less than 1 MWp. So in the central and western Balkans only Bosnia & Herzegovina offers incentives for ground-mounted PV without any annual or perpetual capacity limit. But while the Federation (see above) offers a 12-year FIT of €0.2382/kWh for solar between 1 and 10 MWp and of € 0.1881/kWh for solar greater than 10 MWp, Republika Srpska is offering since 1 January 2012 a 15-year FIT of € 0.2052 for all PV greater than 1 MWp. Given that the irradiation in southeastern RS, around Trebinje, is excellent, it is evident that Republika Srpska is now offering investors the best deal for large, ground-mounted PV plants in Southeast Europe west of Bulgaria.
Capital: Podgorica Pop.: 625,266 (2011) Area: 13.812 km² Highest point: 2,523 m
|
Concessions
In December the government of Montenegro granted a concession for the following 1 renewable energy project:
Hydroelectric: 1 project (0.6 MW)
This project received an energy license for construction in December 2010, but with the present act the project was granted a 30-year concession based on the earlier license. The project holder is a public-private partnership founded in 2009 between the local municipality (15%) and a firm in the Slovak Republic (85%).
Energy Licenses for the Construction of Energy Plants
In December a 2-year energy license was issued for the construction of the following renewable energy facility:
Biogas: 1 project (0.5 MW)
Details: The plant, to be built on a commercial poultry farm near Podgorica that maintains 63,000 poultry, will run on chicken waste. In their application filed in January 2011, in the space for “Amount of funds required for the construction of energy facilities” the project holders indicated the sum of “5.850,000” [sic] euros, indicating this would be coming from “European Union funds”.
In December no new applications were filed for energy licenses for the construction of energy plants because the freeze on applications that the Ministry of Economy announced on 8 November 2011 has not yet been lifted.
Construction Licenses
In December construction licenses were issued to one firm for the following 3 renewable energy facilities:
Hydroelectric: 3 projects (3.0, 1.5, and 0.5 MW)
In December no applications for construction licenses were filed for renewable energy projects. The most recent applications for construction licenses for RES projects were three applications submitted by one firm in September 2011 for the construction of four hydroelectric plants, of 10, 10, 7, and 5 MW capacity, respectively.
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December an approval was granted for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) submitted for the following 1 renewable energy project:
Hydroelectric: 1 project (2.9 MW)
Details: This facility will be built at a point 100 meters downstream from the foot of an existing dam and reservoir built in 1982 with a capacity of 18,000,000 m3. The hydro plant will consist of a penstock 1.8 m in diameter running from the lower right outlet of the reservoir a distance of 105 m to a powerhouse containing a main Francis turbine of 2.6 MW designed to operate when there is sufficient water plus a horizontal Francis auxiliary turbine of 0.3 MW (for biological minimum) that will operate only when the main turbine is idle. The turbines are to be equipped with electrical heating devices to protect them if they are in standby during low temperature conditions outside (as low as -24° C.) All construction must be in accordance with Eurocode 8 for earthquake resistance. The facility will feed into the electrical grid at a voltage of 35 kV. In a separate action, in December the project also received approval for entry into the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for Montenegro, allowing the project owners to receive carbon credits in the form of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
In December a public notice was issued indicating that a request for a decision on the need for an environmental impact assessment had been filed for the following 1 renewable energy project:
Hydroelectric: 1 project (8.3 MW, one run-of-river plant with two turbines slightly separated)
In the News
At a symposium on biomass held in Kolašin on 21 December, a presentation by Dr. Igor Kovačević and Mr. Lucija Rakočević of the Ministry of Economy noted that the following projects regarding wood and forest residue are presently under development in Montenegro: 1) a pellet plant of capacity 50,000 tons/year in Pljevlja, 2) pellet production at Brezna of 15,000 tons/year, 3) briquette production at Bijelo Polje of 700 tons/year, 4) a district heating plant in Pljevlja of capacity 18 MW, 5) a feasibility study for district heating in Kolašin and Mojkovac, 6) a biomass plant in Berane of capacity 3 MW.
Capital: Tiranë Pop.: 2,831,741 (2011) Area: 28,748 km2 Highest point: 2,764 m
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Energy Production Licenses
In December, 30-year energy production licenses were granted to 5 renewable energy projects belonging to 3 firms:
Hydroelectric: 5 projects (24, 24, 22.5, 5.0, and 5.0 MW)
In December the review of applications for energy production licenses was initiated for 3 renewable energy projects belonging to 3 firms:
Hydroelectric: 3 projects (3.6, 3.2, and 1.2 MW)
Environmental Impact Assessments
The Commission on Environmental Permits has not updated its database of decisions since October 2011, and its summary of monthly decisions since November 2011. The most recent renewable energy project to be considered was a cascade of 3 hydroelectric plants featuring a dam 150 meters high (171 MW), another dam 50 m high (36 MW), and an existing, semi-completed dam 80 m high (65 MW). The project is a 50-50 joint venture between the Austrian electrical utility firm EVN AG and the Norwegian firm Statkraft AS, which builds and operates hydroelectric plants. The project will be constructed as a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) concession.
Concessions
In December the result was announced of a tender opened in May for a concession for the construction and operation of a 2.9 MW hydroelectric plant at Llëngë. The tender closed on 7 September 2011 at 11:00, and on 16 December it was announced that the winner was the firm Istria Sviluppo S.r.l., of Matera, Italy.
On 21 December the Council of Ministers voted to open 4 hydroelectric concessions for bidding, with the public tender process to be carried out by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy.
In the News
At its regular meeting held on 2 December, the Energy Regulatory Entity (ERE) issued a mysterious (secret) “positive opinion on the draft decision for some additions and changes to the DCM [Decision of the Council of Ministers] no. 28, ‘On Approval of Permit for Construction and Use of Commercial Line of Interconnection with direct current between Vlorë (Albania) and Brindisi Sud (Italy)’.” This item was mentioned on the agenda for the meeting, and the list of ERE decisions for the year records this title as decision no. 124 but with the annotation “Not published in Official Gazette”, and the text of the actual decision itself is entirely missing from among the decisions published for the year.
The “Commercial Line of Interconnection” between Vlorë and Brindisi Sud is none other than the 500 MW submarine merchant cable that Italy’s Moncada Energy Group was intending to build between Babica (Albania) and Brindisi Sud (Italy) in order to export to Italy the power that would be generated by the 500 MW wind park that the Moncada Group was constructing in Vlorë. The cable project, approved by the highest governmental authorities in Italy and Albania as far back as 2006, ran aground when, on 7 September 2010, the Brindisi city council voted to deny the project the right to traverse city territory. The project became dislodged again when, on 23 March 2011, the Second Section Regional Administrative Court for Lazio ruled that the “no” vote by the Brindisi city council was simply advisory and non-binding.
As for the content of the ERE’s mystery decision, that would become clearer later on, when on 7 February 2012 the Council of Ministers would vote to change their earlier decision (of 9 January 2008) regarding the cable project, approving an extension of the deadline for the beginning of construction to 31 December 2012 and the deadline for completion of construction to 31 December 2015.
Licenses for Energy Production
In December no licenses for energy production were granted for renewable energy projects.
In December applications for energy production licenses were submitted for the following 4 renewable energy projects:
Hydroelectric: 3 projects (0.58, 0.56, and 0.38 MW, all using Pelton turbines manufactured in Austria and generators made in Italy)
Photovoltaic: 1 project (0.050 MW, in the municipality of Delčevo)
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December there were no actions taken regarding EIAs for renewable energy projects. On 15 December there was issued a resolution declaring the need for an EIA for a proposed reservoir in the northeast of the country, but the proposed reservoir would not include any hydroelectric generation infrastructure.
In the News
In December the transmission grid operator in Macedonia issued a public tender for a 12-month consulting contract for analysis of the dynamic safety involved in connecting to the transmission grid a wind project in the southeast of the country (16 turbines of 2.0-2.5 MW each) that was put out earlier for public tender in October.
On 13 December the government approved, and on 21 December published in the Службен весник (“Official Gazette”), a new Decree on Preferential Tariffs for Electrical Energy, revising the “preferential tariffs” (feed-in tariffs) for Macedonia. (For the system and tariffs as originally introduced in 2007 see the separate decisions for small hydro, wind, photovoltaic solar, biogas, etc.) The revised tariffs are as follows:
Facility type, installed capacity, and payable period
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Preferential tariff
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Wind ≤ 50 MW: 20 years
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0 kW - 50 MW
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8.9 €¢/kWh
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Solar PV ≤ 1 MW: 15 years
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0 - 0.05 MW
> 0.05 and ≤ 1 MW
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30 €¢/kWh
26 €¢/kWh
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Biomass ≤ 3 MW: 15 years
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0 - 1 MW
> 1 and ≤ 3 MW
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11 €¢/kWh
9 €¢/kWh
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Biogas ≤ 2 MW: 15 years
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0 - 0.05 MW
> 0.05 and ≤ 2 MW
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15 €¢/kWh
13 €¢/kWh
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For hydroelectric power the feed-in tariffs depend not on the installed capacity of a particular plant (as long as it is below 10 MW), but on its actual electricity production in any given month. The electricity produced by any plant is divided into “blocks”: the first 85,000 kWh that a plant produces in a given month receive a rate of 12 eurocents/kWh, the next 85,000 kWh receive a rate of 8 eurocents/kWh, the next 180,000 kWh receive a rate of 6 eurocents/kWh, and so on:
Facility type, installed capacity, and payable period
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Amount of delivered electricity per block (kWh)
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Preferential tariff for delivered electricity per block
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Hydro ≤ 10 MW: 20 years
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Block
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I
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> 0 and ≤ 85,000
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12.00 €¢/kWh
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II
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> 85,000 and ≤ 170,000
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8.00 €¢/kWh
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III
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> 170,000 and ≤ 350,000
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6.00 €¢/kWh
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IV
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> 350,000 and ≤ 700,000
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5.00 €¢/kWh
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V
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> 700.000
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4.50 €¢/kWh
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Although the currency of Macedonia is the denar, the decree quotes all preferential tariffs in eurocents. These tariffs do not include VAT.
Register of Privileged Power Producers
Although art. 61 of the new Law on Energy approved by the parliament on 28 July 2011 orders the Ministry in charge of energy matters to maintain a register of privileged power producers, i.e., those who produce electricity from renewable sources, waste, or cogeneration, and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has been making decisions for several years on the assignment of the status of privileged power producer to firms, there is no indication to date that the Ministry intends to make the contents of this register public.
Electricity Production Licenses
In December no new licenses were issued for electricity production from power plants of more than 1 MW. The most recent license granted to a renewable energy company was a 10-year license granted on 31 October 2011 to a Belgrade firm that operates three small hydroelectric plants in Serbia (total capacity 3.1 MW) and that is building or planning three more.
Energy Licenses
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has not updated its registry of issued energy licenses since March 2011.
Licenses for the Construction of Renewable Energy Plants between 1 MW and 10 MW
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has not updated the registry of issued RES construction licenses since May 2010.
Location Permits
The Ministry of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning has not updated its file of location permits since July 2010.
CDM Projects
In December no renewable energy project proposals for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) inclusion were presented or acted upon. Before December the most recent CDM proposal submitted was a project design document form (PDDF) for a wind park of 171 MW in the north of the country, which was submitted in August by a Belgrade firm that is 100% owned by the firm “Luwaxico Limited” of Cyprus and which is collaborating in the wind park’s development with firms in Vienna and Munich.
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December no new renewable energy projects were added to the province’s EIA examination pipeline. In November and December public notices were published in various online and print publications for the 171 MW wind park project mentioned above.
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija / Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохиja / Krahina Autonome e Kosovës dhe Metohisë
Licenses for Electric Power Generation
The file of licenses was last updated in mid-December 2011, but at that time no new electric power generation licenses had been issued since 2006.
Authorizations for Construction of New Generation Capacity from Renewable Energy Sources
In December no new authorizations or preliminary authorizations were issued, but the Energy Regulatory Office did act on one request regarding renewable energy. On 22 September 2009 the Office had issued to the firm Air Energy Sh.p.k. a preliminary authorization for the construction of a 26 MW wind park at Poliqkë (Поличка). The preliminary authorization carried with it the condition that a full authorization be requested within two years. On 20 September 2011, just before the deadline, Air Energy submitted a request that the preliminary authorization be duly converted into a full authorization. But because the firm could not present the necessary evidence in time, on 27 October 2011 it submitted a second request, asking the Office to suspend the processing of the earlier request for conversion. On 20 December 2011 the Board of the Energy Regulatory Office accepted the second request by Air Energy, suspending consideration of the conversion request filed on 20 September 2011 and thereby causing the preliminary authorization granted in 2009 to expire.
There have been no new additions to the file of applications for authorizations since late September 2011.
Capital: Kyiv Pop.: 45,633,600 (2012) Area: 603,700 km2 Highest point: 2,061 m
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Plants in Operation
In December the agency SAEE published summary information on new and existing RES plants in operation in 2011 in Ukraine. At the end of 2011 there were operating 11 wind parks (total 134 MW), 18 solar facilities (188 MW), 73 small hydro plants (71 MW), and two biogas or biomass plants (4 MW). During 2011 the following RES plants were connected to the electrical grid:
Hydro (small): 5 plants (0.8, 0.2, 0.2, 0.1, and 0.1 MW)
Solar: 16 plants (20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 2.0, 1.5, 1.5, 0.6, 0.1, 0.04, and 0.02 MW)
Wind: 3 plants (25, 25, and 3 MW)
Automated Commercial Electricity Metering System (АСКОЕ)
In December the following 3 renewable energy plants were connected to the automated commercial electricity metering system:
Photovoltaic: 3 plants (20, 20, and 0.015 MW)
Decisions on Access to Green Tariffs
In December the following 7 facilities were granted “green” tariffs for electricity production:
Hydroelectric: 3 facilities (0.4, 0.3, and 0.06 MW)
Photovoltaic: 2 facilities (20 and 20 MW)
Wind: 2 facilities (25 and 3 MW)
Licenses for Electricity Production
In December licenses for electricity production were granted to the following 4 renewable energy facilities:
Biogas: 1 facility (0.2 MW, with cogeneration)
Photovoltaic: 3 facilities (20, 20, and 0.3 MW)
Power Purchase Agreements
In December contracts for the purchase of electricity were approved for the following 2 renewable energy facilities:
Photovoltaic: 2 facilities (20 and 20 MW)
Construction Permits
In December no new construction permits were issued for renewable energy projects. Declarations of commencement of construction work were received for the following 4 renewable energy projects:
Photovoltaic: 1 project (33 MW, along with construction of numerous electrical substations of between 13 MW and 20 MW in the same area)
Wind: 3 projects (180, 100, and 2.4 MW)
Capital: Chişinău Pop.: 3,559,500 (2012) Area: 33,843.5 km2 Highest point: 430 m
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Licenses for Electricity Production
In December no licenses were issued for electricity production. The most recent energy license to be issued was granted in 2009.
Environmental Impact Assessments
In Moldova environmental impact assessments are not presently available centrally online. In December public consultation hearings were held for the draft Law on Environmental Impact Assessment which, if implemented, will require that documentation of all stages of the EIA process be made available to the public on the web.
Capital: Bucureşti Pop.: 19,042,936 (2011) Area: 238,390.7 km2 Highest point: 2,544 m
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Green Certificates Issued
In December the following 7 facilities began receiving green certificates (certificate verzi) for the first time:
Hydroelectric: 5 facilities (16, 2.7, 1.1, 0.8, and 0.05 MW)
Wind: 2 facilities (10 and 10 MW)
At the end of 2011 the total installed capacities of renewable energy facilities in Romania that receive green certificates reached 25 MW for biomass, 381 MW for hydro (with the inclusion of 260 MW under the firm S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A.), 1 MW for photovoltaic, and 826 MW for wind.
Grid Connection Contracts
To date 22 projects are known to have signed grid connection contracts in December:
Biomass: 2 projects (1.1 and 1.0 MW)
Cogeneration: 1 project (0.2 MW)
Hydroelectric: 2 projects (37 and 1 MW)
Photovoltaic: 8 projects (9.3, 8.7, 6.0, 6.0, 3.0, 3.0, 1.0, and 0.1 MW)
Wind: 9 projects (34, 10, 10, 6, 6, 4, 2, 0.02, and 0.02 MW)
Grid Connection Permissions
To date 23 projects are known to have been granted permission in December for connection to the electrical grid:
Biogas: 1 project (0.5 MW)
Biomass: 2 projects (10 and 9.7 MW)
Cogeneration: 1 project (1.4 MW)
Hydroelectric: 5 projects (7.3, 4.0, 1.8, 0.9, and 0.1 MW)
Photovoltaic: 8 projects (10, 10, 3.8, 3.0, 3.0, 3.0, 2.0, and 0.1 MW)
Wind: 6 projects (99, 60, 54, 51, 27, and 2 MW)
Licenses for Electricity Production
In December licenses for electricity production were granted to the following 4 renewable energy facilities:
Hydroelectric: 2 facilities (2.7 and 0.96 MW)
Photovoltaic: 1 facility (0.18 MW)
Wind: 1 facility (10 MW)
Authorizations for Energy Construction
In December licenses for were granted for construction of the following 9 renewable energy production projects:
Biogas: 1 project (2.2 MW, with cogeneration)
Cogeneration: 1 project (20.2 MW)
Hydroelectric: 1 project (1.9 MW)
Wind: 6 projects (90, 36, 20, 14, 10, and 5 MW)
In addition, a license was granted for the upgrading of the turbine and generator at an existing hydroelectric facility of 2.5 MW.
Plants in Operation
To date a total of 26 renewable energy plants are known to have entered operation in December:
Hydroelectric: 3 plants (1.2, 0.7, and 0.2 MW, all in the province of Blagoevgrad)
Photovoltaic: 23 plants (5.0, 3.7, 3.5, 2.9, 2.6, 1.0, 0.7, 0.6, 0.4, 0.4, 0.4, 0.4, 0.2, ... 0.05 MW)
Use Permits
In December a total of 682 use permits were issued in Bulgaria, of which at least 50 were given for renewable energy projects. The most significant RES projects to receive use permits in December were the following:
Hydroelectric: 1.4 MW (prov. of Blagoevgrad), 1.0 MW (Pazardzhik)
Photovoltaic: 5.0 MW (Plovdiv), 4.9 MW (Shumen), 3.5 MW (Plovdiv), 2.6 MW (Plovdiv), 0.70 MW (Smolyan), 0.40 (Haskovo) 0.20 MW (Blagoevgrad)
Wind: 6.4 MW (Dobrich)
Energy Licenses
In December a public hearing was held regarding a proposed license for 1 project:
Photovoltaic: 1 project (15 MW, to be built in the province of Blagoevgrad in six phases, on 51.3 hectares of land, by March 2013)
In December the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) made changes to several existing energy licenses:
o The Commission took note of the splitting of a company that had previously been granted an energy license for the construction of the wind park “Mogilishte” near Kavarna (6 x 1.5 MW = 9 MW), and confirmed the transfer of the license to one of the resulting companies, the firm Nimex 2004 M OOD.
o The Commission approved a reduction in the planned installed capacity of a previously licensed photovoltaic project, from 25 MWp to 21 MWp, at the request of the project holder. The project, in north-central Bulgaria, is being jointly developed by the Korean firms SDN Co., Ltd. (SDN 주식회사) and Korea South-East Power Co., Ltd. (한국전력공사 or “KEPCO”), the largest electric utility in South Korea.
o The Commission took note of the merger of a Swiss-backed wind project company with another wind project company, and granted to the Swiss-backed company the license for a wind project that had been granted to the other firm in September 2011. The project in question involves the installation of 9 turbines of 2.5 MW each (Fuhrländer FL 2500-90) for a total of 22.5 MW. Effectively this merger constitutes a previously planned expansion phase for an adjacent, already operating wind park of 50 MW owned by the Swiss firm. According to the budget submitted to regulators by the project holder, the total cost of the 22.5 MW wind park is expected to be 71,437,000 BGN, which the regulators note will come to the sum of 3,174,978 BGN (1,623,340 EUR) per MW. The inheriting of the 25-year license issued in September 2011 was permitted on condition that the new project owner submit a description of the project in conformity with Bulgaria’s law on spatial planning.
o After public hearings held in July and September 2011, on 19 December the Commission published a notice to the effect that on 28 November it had revoked a license issued in 2008 to the firm En Ko Gen AD for “production of electricity and heat” for a proposed gas cogeneration facility with a capacity of 17.1 MW of electricity and 12.8 MW of heat. The revocation of the license followed on a failure by the firm to build the proposed plant within the time allowed (with extensions) and a failure to meet reporting requirements, and was based upon an analysis by the Commission that concluded that the project holder had neither the intention nor the financial and technical capability necessary to construct the proposed plant.
In the News
In early December it was announced that the Czech firm Energo-Pro a.s. would be acquiring the power distribution business in northeastern Bulgaria, purchasing the 59% stake in the firms E.ON Bulgaria Grid AD and E.ON Bulgaria Sales AD that was owned by the German firm E.ON AG as well as the 8% stake in the firms owned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism retains its 33% share in both firms.
Plants in Operation
At the end of 2011 the totals for renewable energy plants in operation on the interconnected system were as follows: wind 1,363 MW, small hydro 205 MW, biomass & biogas 45 MW, cogeneration 89 MW, photovoltaic 439 MW.
Grid Connections
The database of grid connection offers made by the transmission system operator (TSO) and accepted by energy producers has not been updated since October 2011.
In December grid connection requests were presented to the TSO for the following 30 renewable energy projects:
Biogas: 2 projects (3.0 and 3.0 MW)
Hydroelectric: 1 project (4.2 MW)
Photovoltaic: 23 projects (20, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 7.0, 4.0, 2.0, 2.0, 2,0, 2.0, 2.0, ... 1.2 MW)
Wind: 4 projects (317, 144, 30, and 18 MW)
Energy Licenses
In December energy licenses were granted to 50 projects:
Biogas: 2 projects (3.0 and 3.0 MW)
Biomass: 1 project (2.3 MW)
Cogeneration: 1 project (6.7 MW)
Hydroelectric: 5 projects (5.3, 3.5, 3.3, 3.0, and 1.5 MW)
Photovoltaic: 18 projects (20, 10, 8.3, 7.0, 6.0, 5.0, 5.0, 5.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.2, 2.8, 2.6, 2.6, 2.0, 1.8, 1.3, and 1.1 MW)
Wind: 23 projects (39, 36, 36, 30, 28, 22, 22, 20, 18, 18, 16, 16, 16, 12, 12, 12, 11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 9, and 9 MW)
As reported in the previous issue, in November-December* applications for energy licenses were accepted for 113 projects:
Biomass: 7 projects (25, 3.0, 2.5, 2.5, 2.3, 2.3, and 2.3 MW)
Cogeneration: 1 project (1.6 MW, at a hospital)
Geothermal: 1 project (5 MW)
Hydro (small): 3 projects (1.5, 1.0, and 0.6 MW)
Photovoltaic: 82 projects (40, 30, 20, 20, 20, 20, 18, 16, 16, 13, 13, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, … 1.2 MW)
Solar thermal: 4 projects (3, 1, 1, and 1 MW)
Wind: 14 projects (117, 46, 38, 36, 34, 33, 30, 30, 27, 24, 14, 10, 9, and 2 MW)
Hybrid RES: 1 project (69 MW)
*In Greece requests for energy licenses are accepted only in even-numbered months.
In December there were also 13 rejections of energy license applications. The largest requests to be rejected were for a 42 MW wind park in western Greece and for a 33 MW thermal solar plant on Crete. Both requests were rejected for insufficient documentation.
In the News
In December a municipality in northern Greece announced the holding of an online auction for the awarding of a contract to install 21 grid-mounted photovoltaic systems on buildings and facilities owned by the municipality, with an estimated budget of € 889,000 (excluding VAT). In December another municipality in northern Greece also announced the holding of an online auction, this one for a contract for the construction of an unspecified number of grid-connected PV systems on municipal schools and public buildings, at a predicted cost of € 1.6 mln (excluding VAT), and with a deposit of € 97,000 required from the winning contractor.
Energy Licenses
In December energy licenses were granted for the following 33 energy projects:
Coal/Natural Gas: 1 project (14 MW)
Cogeneration (NG): 8 projects (3.4, 2.5, 2.5, 2.2, 2.1, 1.3, 1.2, and 1.2 MW)
Combined cycle (NG): 1 project (55 MW)
Hydroelectric: 7 projects (51, 41, 35, 23, 13, 8.2, and 1.8 MW)
Wind: 16 projects (120, 72, 60, 50, 50, 30, 27, 26, 20, 16, 15, 13, 7, 3, 2, and 0.8 MW)
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December positive decisions on EIAs were made for the following 5 electricity production projects:
Coal (lignite): 1 project (135 MW)
Cogeneration (NG): 2 projects (one project of 840 MW electricity + 1,050 MW thermal and one project of 500 MW electricity + 860 MW thermal)
Hydroelectric: 2 projects (77 and 5.8 MW)
In the News
In December a tender was published for the awarding of a contract to construct a 62 MW hydroelectric facility featuring a tunnel of 7 km and an underground powerhouse, with bids expected to fall within the range of € 44-59 mln (excluding VAT).
Plants in Operation
At the end of 2011 the total number of grid-connected renewable energy facilities in operation stood at 11 for biogas/biomass (total 8.0 MW), 797 for photovoltaic (total 9.3 MW), and 3 for wind (134 MW).
Certificates of Origin
No new plants were added to the certificates of origin system in December, leaving the facilities enrolled in the system as follows:
Wind: 3 facilities (82, 32, and 20 MW)
Grid Connections
The transmission system operator (TSO) has not updated its file of grid connection requests since January 2011.
Energy Licenses
In Cyprus only renewable energy projects of greater than 5 MW apply for a “license”, while projects below 5 MW apply for an “exemption”, which is itself treated as a type of license. In December no new “licenses” for electrical energy production were issued.
In December one application was filed for an energy license:
Geothermal: 1 project (13 MW)
Exemptions from Licensing
In Cyprus “exemption”-type licenses are issued for construction, for operation, or for both. In December exemptions were granted to 125 diesel generators (ranging from 0.03 to 71 MW) and to the following 3 renewable energy projects:
Biogas: 1 project (0.8 MW – issued for construction)
Photovoltaic: 2 projects (0.15 and 0.15 MW – both issued for operation)
In December applications for exemptions were filed for 6 diesel generators and for the following 2 renewable energy projects:
Biomass: 2 projects (1.0 and 0.5 MW)
Energy Production Licenses
In December 15-year licenses for the production and sale of electrical energy were granted to 2 renewable energy facilities:
Hydroelectric: 2 facilities (5.1 and 0.3 MW)
Energy Construction Licenses
In December 1- or 2-year licenses for the construction of energy facilities were granted to 4 renewable energy projects:
Hydroelectric: 4 projects (1.5, 1.5, 1.3, and 1.0 MW)
In addition, extensions of earlier deadlines to construct were granted to 3 renewable energy projects:
Hydroelectric: 3 projects (1.2, 0.7, and 0.6 MW)
Finally, the conditions on a construction license granted earlier to one hydroelectric project were amended to raise the installed capacity of the project from 2.38 MW to 4.20 MW.
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December public hearings were held for the following 3 renewable energy projects:
Hydroelectric: 3 projects (3.9, 0.7, and 0.3 MW)
Energy Licenses
In December there was no licensing activity regarding electrical power production.
Environmental Impact Assessments
In December a public hearing was held regarding a proposed 5.3 MW hydroelectric facility in the east of Georgia. A public hearing was also held regarding an irrigation reservoir to be built in the south of the country, but the project does not involve power generation.
Further information: Commercial contact information is available for all plants and projects mentioned, as well as for more recent plants/projects. Please contact to request a quote for leads for single projects/plants, multiple projects/plants, or customized monthly reports by country and/or project type.
Note to project developers: Investors have expressed interest in energy projects or plants in Southeast Europe. If you have a well-prepared project or operating plant for which you are seeking investors or buyers, feel free to send information, but please indicate clearly 1) what you are seeking from the investors or buyers, 2) what your own role or involvement would be after the transaction, and 3) if it is a project, then what permits or steps still remain before construction can begin and any upcoming deadlines for feed-in tariff changes, license or PPA forfeiture, etc.
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