Companies intend to build wind power plants of 403 MW in total on Sinjajevina mountain, a vast pastureland for which activists and locals have been demanding to be protected. The projects have obtained a green light from the Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro.
After the government leased land for wind parks Sinjajevina Part 1 and Sinjajevina Part 2 to two domestic consortia and issued the urban planning and technical requirements, the developers chalked up another win. They obtained approvals almost simultaneously for their environmental impact reports from the Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro.
The planned investments on the eponymous mountain in the country’s north are for 112.2 MW and 290.4 MW, respectively. A group led by Energy 2 is developing Sinjajevina Part 1 in Lipovska Bistrica in Kolašin municipality. The other project, with a firm called N1 at the helm, is in the territories of Kolašin and Šavnik and the villages Lipovo, Krnja Jela, Boan, Tušinja and Timar.
Local firms Sistem-MNE and Permonte are in both consortia
The other members of both consortia are Sistem-MNE and Permonte. All the firms are based in the capital Podgorica.
Importantly, the Environmental Protection Agency noted that the two reports are almost identical and even with the same photographs. Some were downloaded from the internet and there are no pictures from the designated locations, the commission stressed.
No cumulative assessment
The agency also highlighted the lack of a cumulative assessment for the two projects. The developers replied that they are two related phases of the same project and that the data is from the same set of field research.
Both groups opted for Siemens Gamesa wind turbines of 6.6 MW. Sinjajevina Part 1 is expected to generate 392 GWh, compared to 944 GWh for Sinjajevina Part 2, the documentation shows.
The agency accepted the proposed measures to prevent, lower or remove harmful impacts on the environment. They include the utilization of existing roads as much as possible, without building new ones, and avoiding the felling of trees and removal of shrubs.
Bats can be protected by lowering speed or halting turbines in critical periods
The operators will need to monitor bird nesting in May and June to detect and counter any deterioration. In their reports, they also suggested stopping or slowing down rotors between 11 pm and 2 am when bats are the most active in June and July, except during rain and strong winds.
Sinjajevina spans more than 1,000 square kilometers, dominated by pastureland. Initiatives have been launched to declare it a nature park and include it in the Natura 2000 network.
Environmentalists and the local population are opposing a plan to set up a military training ground. They insist on the preservation of nature and traditional agriculture in the area.