Construction of Cibuk wind farm in Kovin begins late 2013

Construction of the first wind farm in Serbia, worth EUR 300 million, should commence late this year in the territory of the Kovin municipality, it was announced by the investor - Continental Wind Partners (CWP).

CWP President Mark Crandall told Beta news agency that the process of collecting all necessary building permits was expected to end within the next few weeks, adding that in that time the Energy Ministry was supposed to complete a model for purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources that should suit both the state and investors.

According to him, then it will be possible to involve main creditors in the deal, namely international finance institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), whose representatives visited Serbia in late April to talk about the project.

Crandall pointed out that CWP would invest 30 percent of the project value in the construction of Cibuk wind farm in Kovin in the form of equity capital, that is, about EUR 90 million, whereas remaining EUR 210 million would be provided from the loans of finance institutions.

Crandall stressed that CWP should build 57 wind generators in the first phase of investment with each them having a maximum capacity of 2.5 megawatts.

- This gives a total of 142.5 megawatts, which is enough to supply 40,000 households with electricity - said the president of CWP.

Crandall expects that the first phase of wind farm construction in Kovin can be completed by mid-2014 and the whole project by early 2015.