Dolovo Wind

completed

The proposed investment is IFC A loan of up to EUR 60 million, MCPP loan of up to  EUR 45 million and B loans of up EUR 25 million to  Vetroelektrane Balkana d.o.o. (the “Company”), a limited liability company incorporated in Serbia.  The project was originally developed by Continental Wind Partners LLP (CWP), a US-based independent power producer with proven experience in wind energy project development in Central and Eastern Europe.  The principal project sponsor is Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar), a commercially driven renewable energy company established in 2006 by the Government of Abu Dhabi.  Masdar is wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), a sovereign wealth fund established and owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi with a strategic role in diversifying country's economy.    The project consists of the construction, operation and maintenance of a 158 MW wind farm and ancillary facilities (a 35/400 kV sub-station, a 10.8 km long 400 kV power line, an underground medium-voltage power cable network connecting the turbines with the sub-station, a network of access roads and a control building) in the Municipality of Kovin in Serbia. The project will be constructed by an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract arrangement with General Electric Wind Energy GmbH (GE)   and General Electric International – branch Serbia  that will manage all construction activities on behalf of the company. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will be a lender to the project alongside IFC.   The proposed site is located about 30 km to the north east of Belgrade and covers an area of approximately 3,700 ha on reasonably flat terrain with ground elevations ranging between 127 m and 150 m above sea level. The land is in agricultural use and is intensively farmed. The Special Nature Reserve (SNR) Deliblato Sands, an Important Bird Area (IBA), is located 1.3 km east of the proposed wind farm site. The local area is sparsely populated, with the nearest village (Dolovo) located 2 km to the south west, Mramorak located 1.1 km to the south, Vladimirovac located 2.5 km to the north and the weekend settlement of Devojacki Bunar located 1.5 km to the north east of the wind farm boundary.      The project comprises 57 GE 2.78 MW wind turbines. The turbine rotor diameter of this model is 120 m, with a hub height of 110 m. A number of proposed and/or anticipated wind power plants are located within a 30 km radius of the the project site, namely Alibunar 1 (172 MW), Alibunar (42 MW), Malialibunar (8MW), Cibuk 2 (160 MW), Bela Anta (120 MW), Kosava (120 MW), and Kovacica (125 MW).      The proposed site is located in an area designated for wind farm development under the Spatial Plan of the Municipality of Kovin. The wind farm design and development schemes have followed the requirements of the Detailed Plan of Regulation adopted by the Municipality of Kovin in 2010. The company has purchased 65% of the land from private individuals and the remaining 35% from the Municipality of Kovin at market rates on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. The land acquisition is not expected to involve any economic or physical displacement of people, although a Land Acquisition Plan was prepared in 2014 in case involuntary resettlement became necessary.    The project will be an independent power producer (“IPP”) and all the output generated will be sold to the country’s single buyer, Electric Power Company of Serbia, under a 12 year Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”). Construction of the project commenced in 2017 and commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2018, including completion of the 400 kV overhead power line.