Elektroprivreda BiH to build the most powerful solar power plant in BiH in Banovići

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory to the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans. This has initiated a process of gradual reduction and eventual complete cessation of the use of fossil fuels for energy production and a transition to clean, renewable, and sustainable energy sources.

Elektroprivreda BiH has initiated the procedure for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant in Banovići. Other similar projects are also planned in the Tuzla Canton.

Elektroprivreda BiH will build the most powerful solar power plant in BiH in Banovići. The construction of the 8.8 megawatt power plant, estimated at 15 million KM, is planned in the settlement of Banović-Selo on an area of 100,000 square meters, writes Federalna.ba.

- The construction of the solar power plant in Banovići demonstrates Elektroprivreda BiH's commitment to transitioning to electricity production from renewable sources - thus, a gradual transition from a public enterprise and a company that predominantly produces electricity from coal to a company that produces electricity from renewable sources - explains Senad Salkić, Executive Director for Capital Investments at Elektroprivreda BiH.

The Mayor of Banovići, Bego Gutić (SDA), notes that we are preparing for what awaits us in the coming period - and that is decarbonization, which is a condition of the European Union, especially the European Energy Community, and that is the reduction and shutdown of electricity production capacities that are powered by fossil fuels, i.e., coal.

- This is a completely illogical move and has nothing to do with decarbonization because that energy will be used for the production of fossil fuels that contribute to climate change - claims Denis Žiško, coordinator of the Energy and Climate Change program at the Aarhus Center in BiH.

From Banovići, they say they want to show that even in a mining town, which is synonymous with dirty energy, clean green energy can be produced.

- What should be emphasized is that this electricity produced by the solar power plant will be directly used for the operations of RMU Banovići - points out Gutić.

Salkić explains that it is about land that represents a degraded mining area:

"It is a plateau where coal exploitation has ended, which has been reclaimed and is now being enhanced in this way and returned to the local community for use through electricity production in an ecologically acceptable, socially sensitive, and price-acceptable manner."

In the Tuzla Canton area, the construction of solar power plants is also planned in Tuzla, on the ash disposal sites Divkovići 1 and 2, as well as on the Šićki Brod open-pit mine. However, according to the Spatial Plan of Tuzla Canton, the Šićki Brod location is designated as a zone for sports and recreation, but only until 2025, when the Spatial Plan is in effect.

- The photovoltaic power plant in Šićki Brod could be one of the largest we will build, in terms of its capacity. Of course, there are certain administrative barriers reflected in the spatial plans, in the regulatory plans of the local communities of Tuzla Canton, which we are trying to resolve with the competent ministries and the City of Tuzla. And it is progressing, we can say, in a satisfactory manner - adds Salkić.

When it comes to the path of energy transition, environmentalists believe that we are ready as a society, but not as a country.

- The problem in the Federation is that the adoption of the new law on renewable energy sources has been postponed for years. It will actually enable citizens, small businesses, and entrepreneurs to install photovoltaic power plants on their roofs and thus reduce or eliminate their electricity bills for a period of 20 to 30 years, once they repay the loan. And this is a problem that our authorities have, because they are losing the market and losing their monopoly - states Žiško.

In addition to the aforementioned, Elektroprivreda BiH also plans to build a photovoltaic power plant on the completed exploitation fields of the lignite mine Đurđevik, as well as to build floating photovoltaic power plants on Lake Snježnica and Lake Modrac.