Solar power plant Petka put into trial operation – First solar megawatts from Kostolac

The 10-megawatt solar power plant Petka is in trial operation as of today. On the site of an old mining dump, we are now producing clean, green energy, said Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, Minister of Mining and Energy, at the ceremonial commissioning of the first solar power plant in Kostolac.

She emphasized that there were no big or small projects, because for the energy security of Serbia, every megawatt was important and meant greater security.

– In the mining area today, in addition to the solar power plant Petka, wind turbines of the first EPS wind farm are also being erected. They were also built mainly on reclaimed tailings dumps. In August, we expect connection to the grid and the testing phase when the propellers will spin. This will strengthen our electricity system here in Kostolac by 76 megawatts of green energy – said Djedovic Handanovic.

She reminded that the strategic goal of the Serbian Government, defined by the Energy Development Strategy, was to reach 45% of the share of renewable energy sources by 2030.

– We still have a lot to do and make maximum efforts because we have strategic projects ahead of us that will significantly change the electricity bloodstream of Serbia. These are primarily the construction of the pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant “Bistrica” and the project of solar power plants with a capacity of 1 GW with battery storage. The necessary investments in energy in the next 10 years are estimated at around EUR 14 billion. Therefore, we must make up for all delays and be up to the task in order to ensure energy peace for future generations – concluded Djedovic Handanovic.

– Our first solar plant here in “Kostolac” has a capacity of 10 megawatts, and with the wind farm that will be on the grin in the coming period and the 350 megawatts of block B3 from the end of last year, this area is energetically stronger by as much as 426 megawatts. This is significantly more power and gives us special security, especially in times of global crises that we have been witnessing recently – said Dusan Zivkovic, CEO of EPS.

He pointed out that every new megawatt was important for EPS and the electric power system, especially in tropical days when the demand for electricity was increasing.

– In this way, we strengthen not only our green portfolio, but also the reliability of the entire energy sector, and citizens and the economy have, as before, a secure supply. Projects like this are concrete steps towards decarbonization and sustainable energy development, which are also our goals for the coming decades. We will continue with similar projects here in Kostolac, but also at landfill sites and dumps in other parts of EPS – said Zivkovic.

Aleksandar Latinovic, Head of System Services at EPS and one of the project leaders of the SE “Petka”, pointed out that valuable experience had been gained during the construction, that there had been many challenges that brought some new solutions and knowledge, and that “Petka” is just the beginning and an incentive for the construction of new capacities.

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Elektroprivrede Srbije

Ministry of Mining and Energy

Dubravka Đedović Handanović

Aleksandar Latinović

Dušan Živković

Solar Power Plant Petka