Montenegro’s power utility gets EUR 25 million loan to expand Gvozd wind farm
Montenegrin state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) said it signed a EUR 25 million loan contract with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for expanding the Gvozd wind farm to 75.6 MW. Once fully operational, it will be the largest wind farm in Montenegro.
The Gvozd 2 project involves the installation of three additional wind turbines, with a combined capacity of 21 MW. It will increase the wind farm’s total projected annual production to over 210 GWh, enough to cover the needs of about 36,000 households and reduce CO2 emissions by almost 137,000 tons a year, EPCG said following the signing of the loan agreement.
The expansion project involves three additional wind turbines with a combined capacity of 21 MW
An EUR 82 million loan for the first, 54.6 MW phase of the wind farm, including the grid connection infrastructure, was signed with the EBRD in June 2023. Gvozd will be EPCG’s first large-scale power generation facility built in more than 40 years.
Construction on the first phase, featuring eight turbines, began in November 2024. EPCG expects the power plant to enter trial operation by the end of this year, with a projected annual electricity output of 150 GWh.
Construction on the first, 54.6 MW phase of wind farm Gvozd was launched in late 2024
Commissioning of the full 75 MW capacity is expected by the end of 2026, according to a press release from the EBRD.
A key step in Montenegro’s energy transition
Milutin Đukanović, President of EPCG’s Board of Directors, described the expansion of Gvozd as a key step in Montenegro’s energy transition. In the press release, EPCG stated that the wind park would significantly contribute to achieving the European goal to produce electricity exclusively from clean sources by 2050 at the latest.
Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović noted that the Gvozd project would strengthen Montenegro’s energy security, reduce CO2 emissions, and pave the way for sustainable development.
Francesco Corbo, the EBRD’s Regional Head of Energy for the Western Balkans and Croatia, recalled that the bank, through its Renewable Energy Market Accelerator (REMA) program, helped the Montenegrin authorities organize the country’s first renewable energy auction, for solar projects totaling 250 MW.
