The President of the Board of Directors of the Electric Industry of Montenegro, Milutin Đukanović, said that the construction of a hydroelectric power plant at Komarnica would have many benefits for the north of Montenegro, because if they had a ready-made hydropower structure, solar power plants would be connected in that environment and thus a fantastic energy potential would be obtained, and it would mean a lot for the development of Plužine, Šavnik and Žabljak.
On the other hand, biologist Vuk Iković claims that the Komarnica power plant project is a pure energy failure. He explains that the problem is that there is not enough water, then it is economically unprofitable, and from an ecological point of view it is a total disaster.
Đukanović said that when we have built Komarnica, then below it we already have Piva, and after that Kruševo, and also some other small power plants on the Drina, and if it worked on time, it would be considered the best hydropower potential in Europe. This means, says Đukanović, that extremely high electricity prices would be realized.
Where we have a ready-made hydropower structure, we would connect solar power plants in that environment and thus obtain a fantastic energy potential, and that would mean a lot for the development of Plužine, Šavnik and Žabljak. We think that it would be a real revival for the north of Montenegro. Land prices would increase, and Elektroprivreda’s policy is also not to use fertile land for the construction of solar power plants – said Đukanović.
Biologist Vuk Iković is of the opinion that the Komarnica power plant project is a pure energy failure. Firstly, because there is not enough water, secondly, it is economically unprofitable, and from an ecological point of view, a total disaster. If we invested that money in wind and solar energy, we would have twice as much energy and thus the return on the investment would be three times faster, and it would employ more people.
In addition, we already have two energy batteries, i.e. accumulations Piva and Perućica, which are sufficient to balance the start of solar and wind production – explains Iković.
He pointed out that when a hydroelectric power plant is built, it permanently destroys the space and something very valuable is permanently lost.
He said that maybe this project was profitable 50 years ago, but today it is not. Ikovic said that we can have a sustainable economy only if environmental protection measures are respected. The Komarnica hydroelectric power plant will not replace the Pljevlja thermal power plant because we need seven Komarnica for the Pljevlja thermal power plant – said Iković.
Jugoslav Jakić, President of the Municipality of Šavnik, pointed out that the construction of the Komarnica hydroelectric power plant has been mentioned for decades and in all strategic and planning documents of the municipality of Šavnik, the Komarnica hydroelectric power plant is seen as a future generator of the development of the Municipality of Šavnik.
He said that the position of the local administration, which was presented at the public hearings, is that they are in favor of the construction of the Komarnice hydropower plant, but in compliance with the strictest environmental standards and principles.
The mosquito net is for all the citizens of Montenegro and not only the citizens of Šavnik, and I am in favor of the referendum, but in which the citizens of Šavnik will participate – said Jakić.
He pointed out that the biggest problem is that different information is constantly presented and the public is manipulated, from the fact that the Nevidio canyon will be submerged, then the village of Komarnica, and that this will cause tectonic disturbances in the city and the like.
I can understand the position of environmentalists, but it is not clear to me that they are manipulating and trying to replace theses in order to achieve their goal – said Jakić. Milan Gazdić, director of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that he believes that the Commission they formed will give the best recommendations.
One of the biggest shortcomings is that the location is not adequately described, and then the biodiversity. Data that is over 40 years old was used. On the basis of all the data, we cannot give adequate recommendations on how to mitigate the impact on nature in that part – Gazdić pointed out.
Nikola Vukotić, project manager of the Komarnica hydropower plant, said that if we take the average price on the stock market predicted for this year, noting that Komarnica is not sold as the average but as the most expensive, we would have 32 million per year, plus 2 million EUR only due to system fees.
