TNC maps 2.7 GW of renewables sites in Montenegro’s Niksic
Date: February 28th 2024
Author: Maja Žuvela
Category: En.vision
Topic:
Electricity
, Renewables
, Energy policy
, Economy
, Ecology
, En.vision
Montenegro’s western municipality of Niksic has the potential to develop over 2.7 GW of renewables without having a negative environmental impact, a pilot study conducted by the environmental protection NGO Nature Conservancy showed.
The study that was conducted over the past year serves as a prelude to a nation-wide project that will help the small Western Balkan country identify the most promising renewables sites, attract investments and accelerate their deployment, but at the same time protect the environment and public interest, Mate Zec, the TNC’s south-east Europe renewable energy siting specialist, told Montel in an interview.Zec said that the study for Niksic has mapped optimal areas for the roll out of 2.7 GW of solar capacity and around 40 MW of wind capacity.
A third of this capacity could generate 1.4 TWh of electricity, or nearly the record output of the 225 MW Pljevlja coal power plant, and cover total residential demand in 2022.
The map combines layers of wildlife habitat, land use data, irradiation and wind speed, as well as grid and other infrastructure availability, to identify locations where renewables development is most likely to avoid vital natural or economic areas, as well as permitting delays and cost overruns, Zec said.
“It would be great if we could include these results in the local spatial plan for Niksic,” he added.
National study in a year
In May this year, the TNC plans to conduct the national study, which should be completed within a year.The Montenegrin TSO CGES told Montel recently that a lack of balancing reserve and lengthy grid upgrade procedures could hinder the integration of 4 GW of new solar and wind power projects in the country.
Zec acknowledged that grid capacity has been identified as the main bottleneck for deployment of renewables across the region.
“This is now a problem that we need to face. A certain number of the projects that have obtained urban planning and technical conditions in Montenegro may not be implemented. So, this is something that our study certainly contributes to avoiding in future,” Zec added.
Last October, the TNC and the Energy Community Secretariat signed a memorandum of understanding, with the aim of accelerating renewables permitting in its nine contracting parties.
TNC has already identified suitable locations for renewables projects in Serbia and North Macedonia.
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