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Croatia’s Kermas on track to secure new concession for Trusina wind farm

The Government of the Republic of Srpska has drafted a cooperation agreement with Croatian firm Kermas Energija, which is expected to enable the awarding of a concession to build and operate the Trusina wind farm. In late November, the government adopted a decision to annul the public call for awarding the concession, launched in October, due to a lack of bids.

A concession agreement for the 50 MW Trusina wind farm in the municipality of Nevesinje was signed in 2012. However, it was terminated in 2019 after Kermas failed to provide a bank guarantee or make significant progress in implementing the project. The agreement was signed with Eol prvi, a firm owned by Serbia-based Omega plus, but Kermas later acquired a majority stake in the project.

In a statement to Nezavisne, the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska explained that the decision to conclude an agreement with Kermas was made in order to avoid arbitration proceedings that the Croatian company had planned to initiate, as well as due to the government’s interest in having a wind farm built at the site.

According to earlier reports, Kermas had planned to seek damages in the amount of BAM 200 million (around EUR 102.3 million).

The concession is expected to be awarded through a negotiated procedure

The agreement is intended to enable the concession to be awarded through a negotiated procedure, in accordance with the Law on Concessions, the newspaper reported.

Besides withdrawing from arbitration, Kermas would also have to implement the project under new technical specifications, as technology has advanced in the meantime, and wind turbines are now produced with significantly higher installed capacities, according to the Government of the Republic of Srpska, one of the two entities constituting Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the annulled public call, the estimated investment in the Trusina wind farm was BAM 130 million (EUR 66.5 million), with a projected annual electricity output of around 160 GWh.

The concession was to be awarded for a period of up to 50 years, and the electricity produced would have been sold on the market.

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Croatia’s Kermas on track to secure new concession for Trusina wind farm

The Government of the Republic of Srpska has drafted a cooperation agreement with Croatian firm Kermas Energija, which is expected to enable the awarding of a concession to build and operate the Trusina wind farm. In late November, the government adopted a decision to annul the public call for awarding the concession, launched in October, due to a lack of bids.

A concession agreement for the 50 MW Trusina wind farm in the municipality of Nevesinje was signed in 2012. However, it was terminated in 2019 after Kermas failed to provide a bank guarantee or make significant progress in implementing the project. The agreement was signed with Eol prvi, a firm owned by Serbia-based Omega plus, but Kermas later acquired a majority stake in the project.

In a statement to Nezavisne, the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska explained that the decision to conclude an agreement with Kermas was made in order to avoid arbitration proceedings that the Croatian company had planned to initiate, as well as due to the government’s interest in having a wind farm built at the site.

According to earlier reports, Kermas had planned to seek damages in the amount of BAM 200 million (around EUR 102.3 million).

The concession is expected to be awarded through a negotiated procedure

The agreement is intended to enable the concession to be awarded through a negotiated procedure, in accordance with the Law on Concessions, the newspaper reported.

Besides withdrawing from arbitration, Kermas would also have to implement the project under new technical specifications, as technology has advanced in the meantime, and wind turbines are now produced with significantly higher installed capacities, according to the Government of the Republic of Srpska, one of the two entities constituting Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the annulled public call, the estimated investment in the Trusina wind farm was BAM 130 million (EUR 66.5 million), with a projected annual electricity output of around 160 GWh.

The concession was to be awarded for a period of up to 50 years, and the electricity produced would have been sold on the market.

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50 MW Trusina wind project in BiH gets fresh start

The Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska has issued a public call for a concession to build and operate the Trusina wind farm in the municipality of Nevesinje, with an installed capacity of up to 50 MW. The move paves the way for reviving one of the largest wind projects in the Republic of Srpska, which has been stalled for years.

The investment is valued at BAM 130 million (EUR 66.5 million), with a projected annual electricity output of about 160 GWh. The new concession procedure was initiated by Sarajevo-based SDL Energy Company.

Wind farm Trusina would generate 160 GWh of electricity per year

The concession can be granted for a period of up to 50 years, and the produced electricity would be sold on the market, according to the public call. If awarded, the contract will include a one-time concession fee of BAM 650,000 (EUR 332,000), as well as BAM 0.0055 (EUR 0.0028) per kWh of electricity produced.

The deadline to submit bids is 30 days from the publication of the call.

The Republic of Srpska is one of the two entities comprising Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is called the Federation of BiH.

Challenges from the very beginning

The first concession agreement for the construction of the Trusina wind farm was signed back in 2012. The firm that was granted the concession, called Eol prvi, was founded by Serbia-based Omega plus, but Croatian firm Kermas energija joined the project and subsequently acquired a majority stake in Eol prvi.

However, the concession agreement was terminated in 2019 due to Kermas’ failure to provide a bank guarantee or make any significant progress in implementing the project.

The first concession was scrapped in 2019

Kermas reportedly threatened arbitration against Bosnia and Herzegovina, claiming BAM 200 million (EUR 102.3 million) in damages. However, in May this year, it expressed willingness to resolve the matter amicably, eKapija reported, citing information from the Office of the Attorney General of BiH.

Another dispute involved a EUR 38.2 million lawsuit filed by Omega plus against Kermas. The lawsuit concerned lost profits from the unrealized project, as well as issues related to the transfer of ownership in Eol prvi.

Initially, Omega was awarded BAM 21.1 million (EUR 10.8 million), but the ruling was later overturned.