Elektrowind and WindVision build wind farms in south Banat

Winds in south Banat blow more than 200 days a year, and their intensity is strong enough to produce green electricity. It is still unknown where in this part of Serbia investors plan to "spin" the first windmill, but it is for certain that one of them will be in Alibunar.

People in that municipality are preparing paperwork for the construction of two wind farms - Elektrowind and WindVision should soon put up the first wind turbines.

- We are now working on two detailed regulation plans for a wind farm. One document has already been on public display, while the other is still a draft. The spatial plan that was adopted last year has provided us with an opportunity to set up wind generators under the condition that we respect the protected area of Deliblato Sands – Kosa Nikolic from the Alibunar Secretariat for Urbanism, Public Utility and Housing Affairs and Environment Protection says in a talk with eKapija.

Elektrowind has submitted a request for setting up 25 poles, while WindVision plans to build a bigger wind farm with 85 windmills.

- Elektrowind will have a smaller field, with the total capacity of 50 MW. WindVision`s field will be bigger, and its 320 kV power line should go through the neighboring municipality of Kovacica. Both investors are now working on the project documentation. They are resolving ownership relations and signing contracts with landowners - Nikolic points out.

Biogas plant soon

Given that Alibunar has a potential to use other types of renewable energy as well, there is also a biogas plant under construction in this municipality.

- The company Biogas Energy has started building a power plant in Ilandza. Four silos are already completed, and this plant uses corn silage and manure as biomass - says our interlocutor.

As it was announced at the company`s website, Biogas Energy owns 11.4 ha of building land in the village of IIandza. Additional 480 ha of agricultural land and a part of the irrigation system covering 400 ha of land are utilized to produce substrates used in the biogas power plant.

The total planned capacity of the power plant is 3 MW of electric energy (24,000,000 kWh) and 3.6 MW of heat energy (29,000,000 kWh) per year.

After commissioning the biogas plant, people at this company plan to start building a greenhouse on an area spanning a total of 5 hectares, so they could grow organic vegetables in it. The key advantage of such greenhouse lies in the fact that heat and carbon-dioxide from the cogeneration plant can be used to heat the greenhouse.

Geothermal springs as basis for tourism development

Although there are several geothermal springs in the municipality, with the water rich in radioactive iodine, this potential is not used as much as it should be.

- There is a hot spring at Devojacki Bunar (Girl`s Well) in Deliblato Sands, and it is one of the main attractions in summer. It is a beautiful place for picnics and excursions, featuring 1,200 weekend cottages, hotel, conference, sports and wellness facilities. This place is the most visited site on the territory of Deliblato Sands and features tens of kilometers of sand trails and various sports fields. The tourist offer also includes a number of tourist events taking place during the whole year - Prvomajski Uranak, Sabor Pcelara, Zlatna Udica, Hajka na Banatsku Lisicu, Likovna Kolonija...

(Plava Dama)

- We have much potential to develop tourism. There is a central zone that has always been the gathering place of visitors, especially for the 1st of May. Construction is allowed in certain zones, but only if it does not pollute the environment.

There are hotels Plava Dama, Stari Lovac and Zlatni Bor, the boarding house Goranski Dom and a number of loghouses-bungalows under construction in the municipality of Alibunar.

Aside from the one at Devojacki Bunar, geothermal springs also exist in another place in Banatski Karlovci, as well as in the place called Janosik.

Another tourist potential of the municipality of Alibunar is the DTD (Danube-Tisa-Danube) canal near Janosik. According to the Master Plan, that 38-hectare area should be prepared for the construction of a spa resort. In addition to treatment and rehabilitation facilities, that spa should also comprise tourist, sports and recreational facilities. It is necessary to repeat the analysis of existing water and refresh the activities related to the construction of a complex that would serve both medical and sports and recreational purposes.

S.O.