1.2GW wind project to be developed in Croatia and Bosnia

The subsidiary of the German renewable energy company wpd, wpd Adria, is set to invest EUR 1.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) for the development of an integrated 1.2GW wind farm system in the Livno-Grahovo-Knin area in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the wpd Adria managing director Zoran Obradović.

The project will consist of a 900 MW wind farms in Bosnia and a 300 MW wind farm in Croatia. In total the integrated system of parks will have the installed capacity of 1.2 GW.

wpd Adria is obtaining permits that will enable it to evaluate the wind potential in the Livno, Glamoč, and Grahovo areas. The permits for installing measuring points in Khin have been issued already.

The managing director said: "Based on our experience in some projects we have developed in nearby areas, we expect that the results will be favourable since the locations are good."

In the first part of the project, the wind farms in the locations that offer immediate connection to the grid will be built. Afterwards, the project developer intends to arrange a power network expansion in cooperation with Croatian transmission system operator (TSO) HOPS and BiH’s TSOs Elektroprijenos and NOS. 

wpd estimates that the investment of EUR 200 million would be required into the electricity networks of two countries. The funds for network development will come from the EU funds. wpd will invest in wind turbines and equipment though. To finance its projects 20-30% of the finances usually come from wpd funds and the rest are covered by the bank loans.

The construction works on the project are expected to start in three-four years and the project is expected to be completed in 2030.