The city of Pancevo and companies Wellbury-Bela Anta and Balkana have signed a contract to develop two wind farms with a wind power capacity of 170 MW and counting around 60 wind turbines.
“Pancevo will have great benefits from this wind farm, namely by using ecologically clean energy and 0.5% of gross income from the electricity sales within the next 25 years. In addition, all construction work will be carried out by Pancevo-based companies” said Deputy Mayor Dusan Mrvos after the contract was signed.
Miodrag Obradovic, representative of Welbury-Bela Anta, said that Pancevo was among the first cities in Serbia to recognize the importance of renewable sources of energy. According to recently-passed regulation, 1 kWh of wind power generated electricity will cost about €0.095.
Green Star Alternative Energy is the main company that is constructing a wind energy project called Belo Blato, in Serbia. The project is divided into 2 phases. The first phase includes a 20 megawatt (MW) wind farm. The second phase includes development of additional 300 MW of wind power.
Spain’s Wind Alliance Group intends to invest some EUR 420 million in the construction of a wind farm in Serbia over the next three years. Wind Alliance Group, through local partner Loger, has a portfolio of 1.05 GW near the town of Pancevo, in northern Serbia. Of these, 350 MW, located in Dolovo, already have all the paperwork and permits to start construction.
It is estimated that there is a technologically justified wind potential of around 0.2 million tons of oil equivalent in Serbia, which could replace 10% of total electric energy consumption. However this potential is still to be exploited, as this energy sector is under development.
With current technology levels in Serbia total capacities of wind generators, which could be implemented in electro-energy system in Serbia, is about 1300 MW of installed power, which is approximately 15% of total energy capacity of Serbia. These capacities could potentially produce about 2.3 TWh of electric energy annually.
Areas of major wind power potential in Serbia, identified by the survey, are Jastrebac, Stara planina, Kopaonik, Juhor, Suva planina, Tupižnica, Krepoljina, Ozren, Vlasina, as well as territory of city of Vršac.2 Especially interesting for foreign investors is Vojvodina with almost two thirds of it has wind speed that exceeds 4 m/s, and the needed constant level of 5 m/s could be found in several locations: Vršac (as leading with 6.27) m/s, Bela Crkva, Inðija, Irig, kikinda, Sombor, Novi Sad and Sremska Mitrovica.
Regions in Serbia with locations potentially suitable for the construction of wind generators are:
1. Eastern parts of Serbia – Stara Planina, Ozren , Vlasina, Rtanj, Deli Jovan, Crni Vrh, etc. There are locations in these regions with average wind velocity vav > 6m/s, which corresponds to the power of Pav=(300-400) W/m2. This area covers about 2000 km2 and in the future about 2000 MW of installed wind generator power might be built here;
2. Pester, Zlatibor, Zabljak, Bjelasica, Kopaonik and Divcibare are mountain regions which abound in winds, where measurements may be taken and appropriate suitable micro locations found (at altitudes over 800 m) for the construction of wind generators;
3. Pannonian Plain, north of Danube, i.e. wider region of the territory where kosava wind blows also abounds in winds. This area covers about 2000 km2 and is suitable for the construction of wind generators because the basic infrastructure already exists, from roads to electricity grid, and also because of the vicinity of big centers of electric energy consumption, and the like. In future, it would be possible to install there about (1500-2000) MW of wind generator capacities.