NIS signed agreement for construction of the wind farm ”Plandište”

The agreement for the construction of the wind farm ”Plandište” was formally signed in Belgrade on December 14.

In accordance with the document signed by the General Director of NIS Kirill Kravchenko and the Director of a company ”Energowind” Goran Novaković, the company NIS shall acquire 50% shares in the project for the construction of the wind farm ”Plandište”.

The total value of the wind farm ”Plandište” including the development of the basic project, would amount to approximately EUR 160 million. This is also the first electro-energy facility to be constructed in Serbia after 25 years.

The beginning of construction has been planned for the summer 2013. At this moment the permission for the realization of the project has already been obtained, and the consultations with respect to the selection of equipment suppliers and contractors for the construction and installation works are in progress.The project implementation in the territory of the Municipality of Plandište includes the plan for the installation of 34 wind generators with total capacity of 102 MW. The wind farm ”Plandište” shall be the first wind park in Serbia, whose exploitation shall provide the generation of minimum 212 GW/hours of electrical power annually. The applicable legal regulations stipulate that the electrical power generated in this wind park shall be purchased by the public company ”Elektroprivreda Srbije”.

It is important to emphasize that the construction of the wind farm ”Plandište” shall allow Serbia to get closer to fulfilling the EU requirements with respect to development of ‘’green’’ energy. Also, the process of generation and delivery of electricity shall be diversified thus reducing the technogenic load on the environment. Development of alternative energy as a whole and the wind energy itself in Serbia fully satisfies not only the EU requirements, but also regional tendencies in this area, as well as the provisions of the National Plan for the Development of Green Energy, adopted by the government of Serbia.

The share of NIS in this project confirms the previously stated intentions of the company related to the development of energy direction in its business operations. The development of this segment of business is aimed at expanding the portfolio of projects implemented by the company, and shall enable the use of a series of technological and logistical advantages that NIS has in its possession. In particular, the installation of cogeneration devices at the sites of NIS in Serbia has already begun, thanks to which the company shall get the possibility to efficiently use the petroleum gas, using it for generation of electricity while the final phase includes the projects related to the use of geothermal energy.

‘’Participation in implementation of projects for the generation of electricity is in accordance with the Development Strategy of the company by the year 2020 and its transformation from a national oil company into a regional energy holding. I am sure that the start of project implementation for the construction of the wind farm ‘’Plandište’’ will have a stimulating effect to the pace of development of the Serbian electric power in general and will indicate new opportunities for investments in the territory of Serbia to possible investors’’ , said the General Director of NIS Kirill Kravchenko.

NIS is one of the largest vertically integrated companies in Southeast Europe. Main activities include the exploration, production and processing of oil and gas, as well as the production of a wide range of petroleum products. In 2011 the Block Energy was formed for purposes of business expansion. Gazprom Neft is in possession of 56,15% of NIS shares, while 29,88% of NIS shares is owned by the Republic of Serbia. The remaining portion of shares is owned by the citizens of Serbia, associates and former associates of NIS and other minority shareholders.

The company Energowind was established in the year 2005. Main objectives of the company include the development, construction and management of wind parks. Over the past six years, the company’s expert engineering team was engaged in the development of necessary studies and projects and acquisition of the necessary conditions, approvals and authorizations. Partnership with NIS shall enable the construction of the first wind park in Serbia.

A potential partner of NIS and Energowind in this project is the company Akuo Energy (France) which is specialized in the field of project implementation in the domain of ‘’green’’ energy, including the wind power, solar, water, biomass and biofuels. The company realizes the full cycle of project implementation, from the base designs to the financing and exploitation. It is experienced in project implementation and is recognized as a project operator in the territory of France, USA, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Poland, India, Uruguay and other countries. Currently, the representatives of Energowind and Akuo Energy are finalizing the terms and conditions for the participation of a third partner in this project