First Municipal Hydro Power Plant in Montenegro Put Into Operation – Miolje Polje Starts Producing Electricity

The Mini Hydro Power Plant Miolje Polje, built on the Berane town waterworks, has finally been put into operation. This is the first power plant in Montenegro owned by a municipality, that is, a company founded by the municipality.

That the first kilowatts started being produced at said power plant following the test run was also confirmed by the Benegro company, an LLC formed several years ago by the Municipality of Berane with the aim of producing, transferring, distribution and trading electrical energy.

– Following numerous complications, administrative barriers and the test run, the mini hydro power plant built on the town waterworks is finally functional and is the first power plant of its kind in Montenegro. We recently signed an agreement with the Montenegrin Operator of the Electrical Energy Market (COTEE) about the incentive price of electricity from renewable energy sources. Thereby, the electricity produced at this power plant started being delivered to the market, which is of great importance for our municipality – says the director of Benergo, Nikola Cojbasic.

He claims that this is a useful and cost-effective investment, considering that the mini hydro power plant will realize a monthly income of around EUR 20,000.

– This small hydro power plant has a power of around 300 kW, which means that, considering the current market prices, it will produce electricity worth around EUR 250,000 on an annual level. It is known that we can’t use the produced electricity directly and that we have to direct it at the electrical energy system of Montenegro, which has already been done. But our company will get money from the electricity sold, which confirms that it is a profitable project in the long term – Cojbasic said.

Benergo reassures that this is a clean, ecological project and that the MHPP will in no way have a negative impact on the quality of the water in the town waterworks.

– It is not true at all that the installation of the facility on the town waterworks for the purposes of the hydro power plant will have a harmful effect on the drinking water in Berane. This is a fully ecological project, because, passing through the turbines, the water will not be affected negatively in any way. Anyway, there are plenty of power plants working under the same principle in developed countries in Europe, which indicates that the process of the production of electrical energy does not change the quality of the drinking water. All this says that citizens will still have a good and regular water supply – Benergo said.

Benergo

Municipality of Berane

Montenegrin Operator of the Electrical Energy Market

COTEE

Mini Hydro Power Plant Miolje Polje

MHPP Miolje polje

municipal mini hydro power plant

small hydro power plant