Agreement on Completion of Financing of Kostolac Wind Farm Project Signed – Expected to Be Connected to Network in First Half of 2025

The minister of mining and energy of Serbia, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, has signed the agreement by which the financing of the project of the construction of the Kostolac wind farm is made complete. The wind farm has a capacity of 66 MW and is financed from a loan from the German KfW bank, EU grants of EUR 30 million and EPS’ funds, the competent ministry announced.

The signed agreement, as pointed out in the press release, is an important step toward the realization of the project of the construction of EPS’ first wind farm, by completing the financing for the project worth EUR 144 million.

– The production capacity of this power plant, that is, its 20 wind turbines, will be enough to supply around 30,000 households with green energy. The wind farm will be located in the place of the exhausted open-pit mines and the disposal sites of the thermal power plants and mines Kostolac – the minister said and reminded that the construction of the TPP Kostolac B3 would be completed several months later.

The Kostolac wind farm is expected to be connected to the network and start delivering green energy for the citizens of Serbia in the first half of 2025.

– EPS’ solar power plant Petka, of 9.75 MW, should be completed in the same period. All three new power plants in Kostolac – TPP Kostolac B3, Wind Farm Kostolac and SPP Petka are part of the big investments in the energy system which we plan in the coming years, and which will be completed in the period before EXPO 2027 – Djedovic Handanovic assures.

She reminded that, at the public call in October 2023, the strategic partner for 1 GW of self-balancing solar power plants, combined with batteries, had been selected as well and that the power plants would be realized by the consortium led by the South Korean company Hyundai Engineering and be owned by EPS, that is, the state, upon completion.

The minister of European integration of Serbia, Tanja Miscevic, said that the construction of the Kostolac wind farm was a confirmation of the partnership of Serbia, the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany in the process of energy diversification and green energy transition.

– The project will also have an impact on new employments in Kostolac and its area so that the use of RES would develop – said Miscevic.

The EU ambassador to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, pointed out that the project was also the foundation stone of the European Green Deal and a just transition, which promoted economic development while protecting the planet and the citizens.

– The Kostolac wind farm is our joint endeavor for moving away from coal. It symbolizes our dedication to reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, the decarbonization of our economies and the accepting of renewable energy sources. This project is just one element of our wider support to Serbia in the energy sector, which amounts to over EUR 500 million – Giaufret said.

The ambassador of Germany to Belgrade, Anke Konrad, said that Germany was a reliable partner in energy transition and that, through the regional climate partnership, it was consistently focused on supporting the development of green energy in Serbia and energy connecting in Europe.

– For example, we invest intensively in the energy repair of public sector facilities, such as the Military-Medical Academy, or in the Trans-Balkans Corridor, which will not only connect the Western Balkans with the EU, but also increase the capacity of the network. In addition to that, we invest in the decarbonization of heating plants through the use of biomass, such as woodchips, or solar energy – she pointed out and added that the wind farm in Kostolac was a turning point, as it would increase the share of RES in the production of energy in Serbia, and its annual production of 187 gigawatt-hours will replace around 95,000 tons of coal which would be necessary to produce the same amount of electrical energy.

The project of the construction of the wind farm Kostolac is financed with a loan from the German development bank KfW of EUR 80 million and a grant of EUR 1.8 million, as well as a grant of EUR 30 million from the European Union through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), whereas EUR 32.2 million is secured by EPS.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo za evropske integracije Republike Srbije

KfW kancelarija Beograd

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Ministry of Mining and Energy

Ministry of European Integration

KfW bank

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad

EPS

Hyundai Engineering

Dubravka Đedović Handanović

Anke Konrad

Tanja Miščević

Emanuele Giaufret

Military Medical Academy

Trans Balkans Corridor

wind farm Kostolac

solar power plant Petka

wind turbines

EXPO 2027

decarbonization

fossil fuels

renewable energy sources