Ugljevik Thermal Power Plant

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{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Bosnia-Herzegovinacoal}}Ugljevik Thermal Power Plant is a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The plant is owned and operated by RiTE Ugljevik, a subsidiary of Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske.

Ugljevik 3 power station, formerly known as Ugljevik 2 power station, is a proposed 600 MW expansion of the plant.

Location

The undated satellite photo below shows the plant located near Ugljevik, in the Republic of Srpska.

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Background

The 300 MW plant began operating in 1985 in the city of Ugljevik, situated in the foothills of the Mount Majevica. The city is named after coal - "ugalj" - which has been mined since 1899. Construction of the first unit got underway in 1976. A second unit was started but construction was halted during the Bosnian war. The plant is considered a sister unit to Gacko Thermal Power Plant.[1]

Ugljevik 3 power station expansion

In August 2012 Comsar Energy Republika Srpska, a joint venture company between Comsar Energy (90%) with RiTE Ugljevik (10%), a subsidiary of Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS), was unveiled. The company has been formed to add two new 300 megawatt coal-fired units to the existing 300 megawatt power station.[2]

In September 2012 the company's environmental impact statement was submitted to the government. The government released a statement announcing that a public hearing on the project would be held on October 10.[3]

In 2014 Comsar Energy Republika Srpska said the company had begun the construction of the Ugljevik 3 power station, with an operation date of 2016.[4] According to local observers, construction had not begun as of October 2014.

The station would be fueled by brown coal from new surface mines in Delići, Peljave-Tobut, and Baljak in the Ugljevik basin, which would be built simultaneously alongside the plant by Comsar Energy, with plans for a total annual coal production of 3.5 million tonnes.[4]

In January 2015, China National Electric Engineering Company signed an MOU with the government of Republic of Srpska, BiH to develop the Ugljevik 3 power station, and the Ugljevik-Istok 2 and Delici coal mines.[5]

As of October 2016 the plant was still seeking financing and facing lawsuits challenging its permit as incongruous with EU regulations of new coal plants.[6]

In May 2019, Comsar Energy announced the company was leaving Bosnia & Herzegovina, and terminating all existing projects and investments there, including Ugljevik. Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske is reportedly interested in buying Comsar's shares in the coal plant project.[7]

Project Details

Articles and Resources

Sources

  1. "Coal-Fired Plants in Bosnia & Montenegro," Industcards, accessed March 2016
  2. "Bosnia’s RiTE Ugljevik sets up JV with Cyprus-based Comsar Energy", SeeNews, August 13, 2012.
  3. "Bosnia’s Comsar Energy Republika Srpska submits environmental study for Ugljevik 3 TPP - govt", Seenews, September 19, 2012.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "TPP Ugljevik," Comsar Energy Republika Srpska website, accessed Feb 2014.
  5. "Coal mine or Power plant," Consulting Network of China FTZ, 2015-01-13
  6. "Bosnia faces legal action over Chinese-backed coal dash," Climate Home, 28/10/2016
  7. "Ruski oligarh napušta Srpsku sa 180 miliona KM u džepu!" Capital.ba, 30 May, 2019
  8. "China's Global Energy Finance," Boston University, accessed October 2018

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