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NIS has started construction of the first wind farm in Serbia “Plandiste

September 18, 2013

In the municipality of Plandiste (northeast Serbia), today NIS has started construction of the first wind farm in Serbia – "Plandiste." The project will be implemented by joint venture "NIS Energovind" which NIS together with private investors owns in equal shares. Construction work has opened the first vice-premier of the government of Serbia Alexander Vucic and NIS CEO Kirill Kravchenko. During the project implementation on the municipality "Plandiste" territory 34 wind generation installations will be built, with total capacity of 102 MW. Capital investments in the project, including the development of the basic package of documentation and permits, will amount to about 160 million euro. The volume of funds provided directly by NIS will not exceed 23 million euro. The remaining amount will be provided through the funds invested by the parterres of the project and credit resources. In parallel with the start of construction "NIS Energovind" finalizes negotiations with prospective companies-suppliers of equipment, including most reputable European producers. The final decision on the choice of supplier will be made by the end of 2013. The project of the wind farm "Plandiste" construction was approved by the NIS Board of Directors in 2013, and was followed by the phase of commercial negotiations, obtaining permits, and clarifying the conditions of the project implementation. It is expected that the wind farm construction process will take no more than 12 months. The current legislation of Serbia stipulates that electricity produced at the facilities of the wind farm will be redeemed by the state company "Elektroprivreda Serbia." Commencement of the wind farm operation will depend on the term of adoption by the Serbian government a standard model of contract on guaranteed purchase of electricity produced from renewable sources. "Appearance of Serbia's first high tech wind farm will bring the country fulfillment of the European energy policy requirements and will increase the share of "green" and environmentally friendly energy in the national energy balance. Generating electricity from a renewable source we reduce both environmental risks and our own costs, which is extremely important in a difficult economic situation. I would like to emphasize that we managed to increase the efficiency in the first place due to the advanced technologies that will be used during the construction of the wind farm. It is also important how we provided funding for the project – the reputation of NIS, the name of the company were deciding factors in the negotiations with the banking community"- said NIS CEO Kirill Kravchenko after the ceremony