A proposed 92.4 MW wind farm near Njegovuđa in the Municipality of Žabljak could extend Montenegro’s renewable-energy investment cycle into one of the country’s most environmentally sensitive and technically demanding mountain regions.
Podgorica-based Wind Europe MNE has submitted a request to Montenegro’s Environmental Protection Agency for a decision on whether a full environmental impact assessment should be prepared for the development. The application represents an early regulatory step rather than construction approval, but it establishes the first detailed technical outline of a project that would rank among Montenegro’s largest wind farms.
The proposed Njegovuđa wind farm would consist of 14 wind turbines, each with installed capacity of 6.6 MW. The development would include an internal electrical collection system, access roads, turbine assembly platforms, a substation and associated infrastructure. Electricity would be delivered to Montenegro’s transmission system through a planned 110 kV substation and overhead transmission line.
The turbines would be positioned along mountain ridges to capture stronger and more consistent wind while limiting aerodynamic wake losses between individual units. Roads with a planned width of approximately four to six metres would be constructed or reconstructed, with additional widening at selected bends and transport points to accommodate turbine blades, tower sections, nacelles, heavy cranes and other specialised equipment.
Each turbine location would require a permanent or semi-permanent working platform for erection and subsequent maintenance. Plant operation would be supervised through a SCADA system, allowing remote control of the turbines, real-time monitoring of generation and meteorological conditions, fault detection and coordination with the transmission-system operator.
The planned operating life is 25–30 years, after which the site could be repowered with newer turbines or decommissioned. Repowering would potentially allow higher generation from fewer machines, but it would require a new technical and environmental assessment based on the equipment, grid conditions and legislation applicable at that time.
Njegovuđa would enter a Montenegrin wind market that is beginning to move from a handful of individual projects toward a broader generation portfolio. The country entered 2026 with approximately 118 MW in commercial wind capacity from Krnovo, with about 72 MW, and Možura, with 46 MW. EPCG’s 54.6 MW Gvozd wind farm entered trial operation in May, taking the operating and commissioning portfolio to roughly 172.6 MW.
The planned 21 MW second phase of Gvozd would raise that complex to 75.6 MW, with combined annual production expected to exceed 210 GWh. Njegovuđa would be larger than either the first phase of Gvozd or Možura and would approach the scale of the expanded Gvozd complex.
Completion of Njegovuđa would lift Montenegro’s wind portfolio to around 265 MW before Gvozd 2, and approximately 286 MW once both developments were included. That would represent a significant shift for a power system with relatively modest domestic demand and a generation structure historically dominated by hydropower and the Pljevlja coal-fired power plant.
The project documentation has not disclosed a formal energy-yield estimate. A high-quality mountain wind site operating with a net capacity factor of approximately 35–42% could produce around 283–340 GWh a year from 92.4 MW of installed capacity. The final figure would depend on multi-year wind measurements, turbine power curves, wake losses, icing, electrical losses, grid restrictions and mechanical availability.
At an annual output of approximately 310 GWh, Njegovuđa could generate electricity equivalent to roughly 9% of Montenegro’s present annual consumption. The electricity would not necessarily be consumed locally or at the moment it was produced. Its value would depend on the project’s generation profile, transmission availability, Montenegro’s hydrological position and prices in neighbouring markets.
Wind has a different system profile from the solar projects now entering Montenegro’s development pipeline. Solar production is concentrated around midday and increasingly creates simultaneous output across the region. Mountain wind can generate through evening and winter periods, when electricity demand and regional prices are frequently higher. Wind also generally has a substantially higher annual capacity factor than solar.
This gives Njegovuđa potential system value beyond its nominal capacity. Montenegro remains highly exposed to rainfall and reservoir conditions because of the importance of the Piva and Perućica hydropower plants. Wind generation can preserve reservoir water during favourable wind periods, leaving hydropower available for evening peaks, balancing or high-price export hours.
The same complementarity can support Montenegro’s role as a regional electricity-transit and trading system. The country is connected directly to Italy through the 600 MW first pole of the Montenegro–Italy submarine interconnector and is developing transmission reinforcements toward Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania. Additional wind output could feed domestic demand, reduce imports during dry periods or support exports when Italian and neighbouring prices justify cross-border transmission.
Njegovuđa’s ability to access those opportunities will depend on its 110 kV connection, which is one of the most material technical uncertainties still to be resolved. A 92.4 MW power plant represents a large injection for a 110 kV node in a small transmission system, particularly in a sparsely populated mountain area with limited local consumption.
CGES will need to assess thermal capacity, voltage stability, short-circuit levels, reactive-power requirements and compliance with the N-1 security criterion. The studies must establish whether the proposed line and substation are sufficient or whether reinforcements are required elsewhere in the network. The connection solution will also determine whether the wind farm faces permanent export limitations or curtailment during maintenance, network outages or periods of high regional renewable generation.
The project’s grid-compliance package will need to address the emerging European requirements for inverter-based resources. Each turbine will operate through power-electronic controls, while the wind farm’s plant controller will regulate voltage, reactive power, active-power ramping and dispatch at the connection point.
ENTSO-E’s revised grid-connection framework is moving toward closer scrutiny of forced oscillations, converter interactions and model accuracy. Njegovuđa will therefore need validated turbine and plant models, fault ride-through studies, frequency-response tests, harmonic analysis and evidence that the complete installation remains stable across different grid conditions.
The turbine supplier has not been identified. Selection will influence energy yield, transport requirements, foundation design, service arrangements and financing. The proposed 6.6 MW unit size reflects the wider move toward larger onshore turbines, allowing a project to achieve greater capacity with fewer foundations and less internal electrical infrastructure.
Larger machines nevertheless create heavier transport and erection requirements. Blade lengths can exceed the turning radius available on existing mountain roads, while tower sections, nacelles and main transformers require bridges, road surfaces and slopes capable of carrying abnormal loads. Temporary widening can create environmental impacts considerably beyond the permanent road footprint.
Žabljak also presents operating conditions that are more demanding than those at many lower-altitude wind sites. Snow, icing, low temperatures, freeze-thaw cycles, lightning, turbulence and limited winter access can affect both production and availability. Turbine specifications must include an appropriate cold-climate and icing package, while the energy-yield assessment must deduct realistic losses from blade icing and weather-related shutdowns.
Construction scheduling will be constrained by the mountain climate. Foundation works, road construction, cable installation and turbine erection will depend on relatively short weather windows. High winds can prevent major crane operations even where road access remains possible. Delayed delivery of one turbine component can therefore shift installation into another season and extend the construction programme by several months.
These conditions are likely to place Njegovuđa toward the higher end of regional wind-development costs. An indicative CAPEX range of €1.4 million–€1.7 million per MW would give an initial investment envelope of approximately €129 million–€157 million. A prudent development budget, including grid infrastructure, mountain roads, environmental mitigation, owner’s costs and contingency, could approach €140 million–€165 million.
The final figure would depend on the distance and specification of the 110 kV line, the need for transmission reinforcement, foundation design and the commercial terms offered by the turbine supplier. Currency exposure and equipment-price escalation would also be material because the majority of specialised equipment would be imported.
Annual operating expenditure could fall in the range of €3.2 million–€5 million, including turbine maintenance, land payments, insurance, network costs, environmental monitoring, road upkeep, security and operational personnel. Mountain access and icing could place the project above the OPEX level of an easier lowland site.
At annual generation of approximately 300–320 GWh and a realised electricity price of €70–90/MWh, gross annual revenue could reach roughly €21 million–€29 million before balancing costs, curtailment and market fees. A bankable revenue structure would need either a long-term corporate or utility PPA, support obtained through a competitive renewable auction, or a carefully structured merchant strategy supported by hedging.
A fully merchant model would expose the project to regional price cannibalisation and grid congestion. Wind output across Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of Serbia can be correlated during broad weather systems, reducing prices during periods of strong simultaneous production. Njegovuđa’s winter and evening profile could mitigate part of that exposure, but the benefit must be demonstrated through hourly wind and market modelling rather than annual-average prices.
A hybrid configuration with battery storage could reduce imbalance exposure and allow part of the output to be shifted into higher-value periods. A battery would not eliminate seasonal wind variability, but it could smooth short-term ramps, support forecast correction and provide balancing services. The commercial case would depend on Montenegro’s intraday-market liquidity, balancing rules and the treatment of storage under network tariffs.
Under a finance structure with 60–70% senior debt, a well-performing wind project could target an unlevered project return in the region of 7–10% and an equity IRR of approximately 10–14%. Those returns are highly sensitive to construction cost, wind yield, PPA price, curtailment and the timing of grid connection.
A 12-month grid delay could reduce equity IRR by approximately 1.5–3 percentage points through additional interest during construction, deferred revenue and possible extension of turbine warranties and contractor obligations. The grid-connection agreement and energisation programme must therefore be treated as financing conditions rather than technical documentation to be completed after procurement.
The environmental process may prove even more decisive. Njegovuđa is within the Municipality of Žabljak, a territory closely associated with Durmitor National Park, internationally recognised landscapes and a tourism economy built around mountain and natural assets. The project’s exact relationship with protected zones, buffer areas, habitats and major viewpoints will need to be established through detailed mapping.
The environmental screening request does not mean that a full impact study has already been completed or approved. Given the project’s scale, turbine dimensions, access-road requirements and sensitive mountain setting, a comprehensive assessment would be expected to address birds and bats, habitat fragmentation, landscape and visual effects, noise, shadow flicker, watercourses, erosion, forestry, cultural heritage and cumulative impacts with other energy and infrastructure projects.
Bird and bat surveys must cover several seasons rather than a short observation campaign. Turbine micro-siting should be capable of changing in response to flight corridors, nesting areas and sensitive habitats. Operational mitigation may include seasonal curtailment, shutdown-on-demand protocols or automated detection systems, depending on the species and risks identified.
Road construction requires particular care. The most visible turbine footprint may be relatively small, but the construction network can affect a much wider area through excavation, drainage changes, spoil disposal and slope instability. A bankable environmental and social plan should link every temporary work area to defined reinstatement measures and financial responsibility.
Community engagement will need to move beyond a formal public hearing. Residents and landowners will expect clarity on land compensation, road use, employment, municipal revenue, noise, visual impact and the treatment of tourism assets. A transparent community-benefit mechanism could strengthen local acceptance, but it cannot substitute for lawful permitting or avoidance of material environmental impacts.
The project will still need to secure compatible spatial-planning status, land rights, an acceptable grid-connection solution, energy-sector approvals, construction permits and financing. The identity of the turbine supplier, EPC structure, offtaker and lenders remains undisclosed. These are not minor details: they will determine whether Njegovuđa progresses from an environmental screening application into an executable investment.
Montenegro has already demonstrated with Krnovo, Možura and Gvozd that large wind farms can be financed, built and operated in difficult terrain. Njegovuđa would test the next stage of that market—larger turbines, a sensitive northern location, a substantial 110 kV injection and a revenue model that must function without relying on the assumptions that supported the country’s first generation of wind projects.
