Montenegro is preparing to extend development deadlines for the 112 MW Sinjajevina I wind farm, while state-controlled transmission operator CGES faces an estimated €40 million transaction to acquire infrastructure built to connect the project and related renewable capacity.
The planned contractual annex would give the investor more time to complete project design and obtain a construction permit after permitting delays.
The first development phase would be extended to 36 months, while construction could run for up to 60 months after the permit is issued.
Sinjajevina I is planned near Kolašin with 17 wind turbines and installed capacity of about 112 MW.
Current transmission-system planning points to possible commercial operation around 2030, placing the project among Montenegro’s larger wind developments expected later this decade.
The connection infrastructure is expected to be initially developed for the Sinjajevina projects and subsequently transferred to Crnogorski elektroprenosni sistem, CGES, under Montenegro’s energy framework.
The assets have been estimated at around €40 million.
Because of the transaction’s size, CGES shareholder approval is required. An extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for Sept. 30, while connection agreements are expected to move toward signing in October or November 2026.
The arrangement is significant because a firm grid-connection framework is one of the main conditions required for large renewable projects to secure financing and move toward construction.
Montenegro has accumulated a substantial pipeline of proposed wind and solar developments, but only projects able to secure permits, connection capacity and financing are likely to reach commercial operation.
For Sinjajevina, the coming milestones are therefore more important than the contractual extension itself.
A signed connection agreement, construction permit, financing package and turbine procurement would provide clearer evidence that the project is moving from development into execution.
The extension also illustrates the difficulty of maintaining original schedules for large renewable projects.
Spatial planning, environmental approvals, land arrangements, technical studies and grid documentation can each delay construction.
Extending the first phase to 36 months effectively acknowledges that the previous timetable was no longer achievable.
The project remains strategically relevant as Montenegro prepares to expand renewable generation before the eventual decline of the Pljevlja coal plant increases the need for replacement capacity.
Wind can complement the country’s large hydropower fleet, although additional storage and balancing resources will also be needed as variable renewable generation rises.
Sinjajevina I could eventually add 112 MW of new wind capacity to that transition.
The immediate test, however, is more practical: whether the planned CGES transaction and connection agreements are completed this autumn, allowing the project to move toward permitting, financing and construction rather than another extension.
