Chinese take over Alibunar wind farm – Sale of project that will supply half of Banat with electricity officially completed

Leading Nordic renewable energy developer, Norwegian Emergy and its Dutch-Belgian partner, WV International, have officially completed the sale of the Alibunar wind farm project with a total capacity of 168 megawatts.

A majority stake of 90% in the project was sold to Hong Kong-based Heavy Energy International, a subsidiary of Chinese wind turbine giant SANY Renewable Energy.

With this transaction, which began at the beginning of last year, the Chinese partner took over the majority stake and strategic control over the implementation, WV International retained a minority stake of 10%, while Emergy completely exited the Alibunar project, cashing in on its previous rights.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but the transaction includes the full project rights for the Alibunar 1 (96.6 MW) and Alibunar 2 (71.4 MW) sites in southern Banat.

Supplying tens of thousands of households

According to the plan, the wind farm will produce around 480 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean electricity annually, which is enough to supply tens of thousands of households in Serbia and a significant step towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The site is planned to be equipped with modern SANY S168 turbines, each with a capacity of 4.2 MW, further strengthening the Chinese technology giant’s presence in the energy market of Southeast Europe.

Secure buyout and state premiums

What makes this project particularly attractive to investors is the fact that the Alibunar wind farm successfully passed state auctions for the allocation of market premiums in Serbia. All future electricity production will be delivered directly to the state-owned company Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) under a long-term, fifteen-year power purchase agreement (PPA). This guarantees investors a stable and predictable income for the next decade and a half.

Emergy CEO Joar Viken assessed that this transaction represented a major milestone for their business in the region.

– With this agreement, we continue to position ourselves as the driving force behind the renewable energy revolution in the region, providing investors with unique opportunities to contribute to and benefit from the transition to clean energy – Viken said regarding the sale.

Company to remain in Serbia

And although they have sold one of their most advanced projects, the Norwegians and their partners from WV International are not leaving the domestic market. As stated in the official statement, the consortium continues to work intensively on developing the remaining part of its portfolio in Serbia. They will retain a so-called “pipeline” of nearly 700 MW of high-quality wind farm projects in various stages of development (including a large wind farm complex in Banat).

After completing this major acquisition, the Alibunar 1 and Alibunar 2 projects will enter the key field implementation phase. The construction period, installation of wind turbines and system testing will last for a few years, and the complete commissioning of the wind farm and the start of commercial operation are scheduled for 2028.

B. P.

WV-INTERNATIONAL VENTURES d.o.o. BEOGRAD

Emergy

WV International

Heavy Energy International

SANY Renewable Energy

wind farm Alibunar

wind farms Alibunar 1 and 2

Joar Viken

sale of wind farm Alibunar

wind farms Banat