Montenegro’s state power utility EPCG is advancing construction of the Gvozd 2 wind farm, with work nearing completion on the second of three turbine foundations as the company expands renewable generation after years of limited additions to its domestic portfolio.
The 21-MW project on the Krnovo plateau is valued at almost €26 million and is being developed with wind turbine manufacturer Nordex.
EPCG expects Gvozd 2 to generate around 63 GWh of electricity a year.
Once completed, it will expand the wider Gvozd wind complex to 75.6 MW, with expected annual generation exceeding 200 GWh.
The utility estimates that output would be equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 35,000 households.
The latest construction milestone is significant for EPCG because Montenegro’s renewable ambitions have for several years been dominated by projects in development rather than assets entering construction and operation.
Gvozd is among the first projects in the utility’s current investment cycle to begin adding material new wind capacity.
Montenegro already generates a large share of its electricity from hydropower, but output varies significantly with hydrological conditions. The system remains dependent on the Pljevlja coal-fired power plant for firm domestic generation, leaving EPCG exposed to both rainfall volatility and the increasing carbon cost of thermal generation.
Additional wind capacity can reduce some of that dependence, although variable renewable production also increases requirements for balancing, grid flexibility and storage.
That makes the development of Gvozd part of a broader change in EPCG’s investment profile rather than a standalone renewable project.
The company is pursuing additional solar, wind and battery projects as Montenegro prepares for closer integration with European electricity and carbon-market rules.
The economics of new renewables are becoming particularly important as the country moves towards tighter alignment with the EU energy market and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which increases the commercial importance of verifiable low-carbon electricity.
Gvozd 2 nevertheless remains relatively small compared with the scale of Montenegro’s longer-term renewable pipeline.
Its significance is that EPCG is moving from project announcements into physical construction, providing an early test of whether the utility can deliver a broader generation programme on schedule and within budget.
The project’s location alongside existing and planned wind infrastructure should also reduce some development risk by allowing parts of the existing grid and access infrastructure to be used more efficiently.
For EPCG, successful completion would add relatively predictable renewable output to a generation portfolio still heavily influenced by hydrology and coal.
The more important test will follow: whether the utility can replicate the Gvozd model across a substantially larger pipeline of wind, solar and storage projects while ensuring the transmission network can absorb the new capacity.
