Environmental assessment to be carried out for construction of RHPP Bistrica – 100-meter-high dam planned on Uvac

The Bistrica reversible hydroelectric power plant (RHPP) project has taken a new step towards implementation after the Ministry of Environmental Protection adopted a decision determining the scope and content of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study for this energy facility.

The decision was adopted at the request of Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), as the project leader, and it defines the areas that the future study will have to address in order to assess all potential environmental impacts of the planned hydroelectric power plant.

According to the documentation, the project envisages the construction of a new dam on the Klak profile on the Uvac River, about five kilometers downstream from the existing Radoinja dam. The planned embankment dam will be about 100 meters high, with a crown width of 10 meters and a length of up to 400 meters.

The creation of a new reservoir will flood part of the Uvac valley between the village of Klak and the Radoinja dam. The project is being implemented in the municipalities of Nova Varos and Priboj and is part of a wider system of hydroelectric power plants on the Uvac and Lim rivers.

The Ministry has ordered that the Impact Assessment Study include an analysis of the impact on water, soil, air, biodiversity, protected natural resources, population, climate change, as well as possible cumulative effects with other existing and planned projects in the area.

Special attention will be paid to the impact on water resources, groundwater and ecosystems, as well as measures to prevent, reduce and control potential negative consequences during the construction and operation of the plant.

The explanatory memorandum to the decision states that the project is important for the improvement of the Serbian electricity system, increasing the capacity for storing energy from renewable sources, reducing the use of fossil fuels and achieving the goals of the energy transition.

EPS is obliged to submit a request for approval for the Environmental Impact Assessment Study within one year of the decision becoming final.

I. Z.

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Elektroprivreda Srbije

EPS

RHPP Bistrica

Klak dam

Uvac

Lim

Potpeć

Rutoška river