There are around 60 operational small HPPs in Serbia, and most of them are managed and owned by EPS. Serbia has made the cadastre of small HPPs 20 years ago. According to the cadastre, potential power output in small HPPs stands at 450 MW, while annual production was estimated at 1.55 TWh or some 15 % of overall electricity production of HPPs in Serbia. Hydropower potential in small HPPs accounts for 10 % of overall RES
Till mid-2010, Ministry of Energy and Mining has issued 20 permits for small HPPs with overall output of 53 MW. Small HPPs should be built in municipalities Kursumlija, Crna Trava, Krusevac, Cajetina, Priboj, Uzice, Arilje, Kraljevo and Zagubica, while wind farms should be built in Bela Crkva, Kovin, Vrsac, Alibunar, Plan- diste, Indjija, Golubac and Vrsac. There are also several on-going projects for small HPPS with output above 2 MW, but largest number of projects is for small output, up to 500 kW.
EPS is currently in a process of renewing 15 existing and construction of 7 new small HPPs. EPS plans to build HPPs Bovan, Celije, Braje, Zlatibor, Parmenac, Selova and Vrutci. In the same time, existing small HPPs Radaljska reka, Vrelo, Raska, Seljasnica, Turica, Kratovska reka, Pod gradom, Moravica, Sveta Petka, Sicevo, Temac, Sokolovica, Gamzigrad, Vucje and Jelasnica will be revitalized.
Current overall output mentioned 15 small HPPs is 17.7 MW, while their annual output stands at 55 GWh. After the renewals, their overall power output would be increased up to 23.3 MW and their annual produc- tion should be increased up to 77 GWh. 23 million euros will be spent for reconstruction of 15 existing small HPPs. On other hand, overall power output of seven new HPPs will be 13 MW. The cost of the construction of eight small HPPs is estimated at 19 million euros. The implementation of the projects should reduce emis- sion of CO2 by 60,000 tons per year.
The projects will be funded by EPS itself and by 45 million euros loan provided by the European Bank for Re- construction and Development (EBRD). The officials from EPS said that the project is developing as planned. The modernization of existing HPPs is being managed by Energoprojekt-Hidroinzenjering, while the con- struction of new HPPs is being managed by Jaroslav Cerni Institute.
Recently, EBRD announced that EPS will start with tendering for rehabilitation of existing 15 small HPPs and construction of two new small HPPs during Q3 2014 (previously, it was announced that 7 new small HPPS will be constructed). Cost of the project is estimated at around 50 million euros, and EBRD will provide 45 million euros loan for the project, which includes:
- Supply and Installation of Equipment (turbines and associated electromechanical equipment) in three groups of tenders covering central Serbia, west Serbia and East Serbia
- Civil Works tenders (access roads, intakes and channels…, and rehabilitation works of existing facilities) in three mentioned groups
- Consulting Services to assist EPS in the implementation of the Environmental and Social Action Plan EPS has been also engaged in preparation of the technical documentation for construction of several other small HPPs. The company also plans to build HPPs within the water supply system of city of Nis.
Newest small HPP built by EPS is HPP Prvonek, in April 2012. The HPP Prvonek was built on water supply ac- cumulation near Vranje. The cost of the project was 1.6 million euros, and the funds were provided by EPS. HPP has two units and overall power output of 0.9 MW, and annual production of 2.5-3 GWh.
The small HPPs in Serbia are entitled to feed-in tariffs, which vary between 7.4 eurocents/kWh and 13.7 eurocents/kWh, in period of 12 years.
1st public call
In February 2013, Ministry of energy, development and natural protection published the public invitation for construction of small HPPs on 317 sites in Serbia. Overall power output of small HPPs that would be built in 17 municipalities across Serbia is estimated at 110 MW and the overall worth of the projects is estimated at 120-200 million euros. The particular HPPs, when built, should produce overall amount of 400 GWh of electricity.
In the beginning of July, Ministry of energy, development and natural protection published the list of the interested investors for construction of 213 small HPPs across Serbia. 173 investors submitted over 1,400 applications for the projects. For 65 offered sites, there were no interested investors, while 39 sites were deleted from the list, from various reasons (lack of quality bids, ownership disputes, disputes between mu- nicipalities ...). For each site, the Ministry has selected three investors, in case if some of the investors decide to abandon the projects. The Ministry decided to sign tripartite Memorandums of understandings with 91 investors, where 65 of them are from Serbia.
In the end of July, Ministry of energy, development and natural protection, local municipalities and investors started signing Memorandums of Understanding regarding the construction of small HPPs. Some 60 MoU have been signed for construction of small HPPs in Ivanjica and Arilje municipalities with almost 40 investors. Ministry believes that the first small HPPs should be connected to the grid in 2015-2016.
Ministry has announced it would establish special office for the investors, which will provide answers, infor- mation and permits for investments in RES projects, where number of necessary permits and approval will be reduced from 27 to only 5. For HPPs up to 1 MW of power output, only the consent will be issued and for HPPs with power output above 1 MW, energy permits will be issued.
2nd public call
In the end of December 2013, Ministry of energy, development and natural protection published the second public invitation for granting the concessions for construction of small HPPs. The particular invitation is re- lated to 143 construction sites in 20 municipalities across Serbia. Estimated power output of particular HPPs is 60 MW and the overall investments are estimated at 200-250 million euros. The deadline in the tender was set at the end of February 2014, while the memorandums for each location should be signed by the end of May 2014. Ministry said that potential investors would have less complicated procedures for obtaining the
Small HPPs on Ibar River
There are two projects for construction of small HPPs on Ibar River.
First project envisages construction of 10 small HPPs, with overall output of 103 MW. It is expected that investment would reach 285 million EUR. Project is managed by EPS and Italian Seci Energia, for which two companies established joint venture “Ibarske Hidroelektrane”, in July 2010. It was expected that the project would be completed in 2016, but construction has not started yet. According to Law, small HPP is every hydro generation capacity with output lower than 10 MW, so some of HPPs in the system would not have official “Small HPP” status.
Second project envisages construction of 6 small HPPs. Overall cost of the project on Lim River is estimated at 120 million EUR. The power output of single HPP should be 10 MW at most. Project is being developed by Italian company Lusis&Partners, and construction of first two power plants, with joint output of 15.3 MW should start as soon as company obtains all permits.
Small HPPs on Morava River
This project envisages construction of 8-9 small HPPs, and it should be developed by German RWE, in coop- eration with EPS. There are no additional details regarding this project. Also, in mid 2009, Austrian KELAG expressed interest to construct one 10 MW Small HPP on Juzna Morava river, which is part of Morava River. Small HPPs on Ljutina River
Italian company Hydro-One has expressed interest for construction of three small HPPs on Ljutina River in Priboj municipality. Joint output of these power plants would be 2.8 MW, with estimated cost of 4 million EUR. Municipality and Italian company have signed the contract for construction of HPPs in the first half of April 2009. The separate contract envisaged that Italian company should build another small HPP on Uvac River.