Along the Mojura Ridge between the southern Montenegrin city of Ulcinj and the famous coastal city of Bar, 23 Chinese Envision 2.0 megawatt low-wind-speed intelligent wind turbines have been erected. Standing at the top of the mountain, the sound of the turbine blades turning resonates with the rhythmic crashing of waves from the Adriatic Sea below.
Before November 2017, this coastal ridge was still vacant land. Now, it has become the site of Montenegro's second wind power project—the Mojura Wind Farm.
The Mojura Wind Farm is a renewable energy construction project jointly built by Shanghai Electric (Malta) Holding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Power Investment Corporation, and the Government of Malta in a third-party market, with a total installed capacity of 46 megawatts. Construction officially began in November 2017. Currently, the wind farm construction has been completed and is expected to be officially put into operation in the first half of this year.
Montenegro faces a shortage of domestic electricity supply and needs to import to supplement it. In 2017, the national electricity import volume accounted for approximately 32% of total electricity consumption. At the same time, as a candidate country for the European Union, Montenegro also needs to fulfill its commitments to develop clean energy in accordance with EU requirements. Therefore, Montenegro has been committed to increasing electricity production in recent years, with a focus on renewable energy generation.
The Mojura Wind Project comes at a timely moment. Montenegro's Minister of Economy, Dragica Sekulic, stated that Montenegro has abundant renewable energy resources and great development potential, and the Mojura Wind Farm will make an important contribution to achieving stable power supply in the coastal region.
According to Sheng Baojie, General Manager of Shanghai Electric (Malta) Holding Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Malta Montenegro Wind Power Joint Co., Ltd., based on the national electricity generation in Montenegro in 2017, the Mojura Wind Farm's electricity generation accounts for approximately 5% of the national total, enough to supply 100,000 residents. "This will greatly improve grid stability and is a real benefit for the residents of Bar city and surrounding areas, who often experience power outages during the peak tourist season."
"In the past, we were accustomed to power restrictions and outages, but in the future, electricity supply is expected to be more stable, and electricity prices will also decrease," said Sasha Kejic, an employee of the wind farm, expressing optimism for the future.
In addition to stabilizing electricity supply, the Mojura Wind Project has also created numerous job opportunities for the local community and stimulated the development of related industries.
It is reported that during the construction phase, the Mojura Wind Project employed about 500 local workers at its peak, and many of them remained to work at the wind farm after its completion. Maintenance worker Gavrilo Borovic is one of them. He is grateful for the professional skills training provided to local employees by the project, saying, "In the future, we can stay and maintain the wind farm ourselves."
Local resident Darko Mijovic is also optimistic about the series of effects brought by the wind farm. He believes that the wind farm will help Bar, Ulcinj, and the broader region achieve more stable electricity supply, which will promote the development of local tourism and benefit the entire country of Montenegro.
"The success of the Mojura Wind Project has had a certain influence in the Balkan countries, and it serves as a good inspiration," Sheng Baojie believes. "The Belt and Road Initiative provides a favorable environment, allowing outstanding domestic enterprises to go out more and bring Chinese manufacturing, Chinese standards, and Chinese investment to Europe, achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes."