The consortium of Spanish company Fersa Energias Renovables and local firm Celebic, which won back in 2010 a contract to build a 46MW wind farm in Montenegro, could finally start works on the project by mid-May 2014, daily Pobjeda reported.

Fersa Energias Renovables applied on Jan 15 for a construction permit and should receive it within two months, the economy ministry told the daily. Under the contract, the investor should start building works on the project within two months after receiving the permit, which means that if all goes as planned the construction of the wind farm should start by May 15 at the latest.

This would be the first wind farm in Montenegro.

The consortium signed the EUR 65mn deal for the farm in July 2010, pledging to build the farm on the Mozur location near the Adriatic town of Ulcinj within two years. It also signed a 20-year concession contract for 502,858 square metres of land. The farm is expected to generate 100 GWh annually.

Back in 2010, the government also signed a deal with a consortium of Austria's Ivicom Consulting and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the construction of the 50MW Krnovo wind farm, to be located close to the central town of Niksic. The investor plans an upgrade to 72MW and an overall investment of EUR 70-90mn. This project, however, has also been stalled since then.

Pobjeda quoted the finance ministry as explaining the delays in the two projects with the fact that investors usually need more time to prepare such ventures, in particular to carry out extensive research works.

Otherwise, if the investors did not have the delays, the Mozur wind farm was supposed to start sending the first kWh of electricity to the grid last year, while the Krnovo farm was expected to become operational in the middle of this year.

In August 2013, Germany’s wdp revealed plans to build a 50MW wind farm in Montenegro, investing over EUR 200mn. It said the plant would be located in the mountains in the Adriatic town of Budva, where the wind is very powerful.

The European Commission warned in its 2013 progress report on Montenegro published in October last year that Montenegro risks running late on its obligation to align with the Renewable Energy Directive as the country is still to adopt a national renewable energy action plan. This, on the other hand, means investors can find huge potential to engage in renewable energy projects in the Adriatic state, especially in the undeveloped wind and solar sectors.