In Montenegro, there is enormous interest in the construction of small ground-mounted solar power plants. To date, only one has been put into operation, but nearly a hundred investors are awaiting permits.

Images from other latitudes have recently been seen in Čevo, near Cetinje. This is the first small ground-mounted solar power plant in Montenegro, with a capacity of nearly 4.5 MW. It is a pioneering endeavour of the Montenegrin company Čevo Solar.

Over an area the size of about ten football fields, over 8,100 panels have been installed. The investment, worth around 4 million euros, is expected to generate annual revenue of about half a million euros.

The CEO of Čevo Solar, Dragoslav Damjanović, stated that they currently sell the energy they produce on the market, and their partner company trades in directions where it is most favourable and suitable at the moment.

The surge in electricity prices on the market in recent years, combined with the fact that municipalities approve locations for small solar power plants up to 5 MW, has sparked a general race for what seems to be easy profit.

“I can’t say it’s a golden goose, but as soon as we got involved, we believed in this project. We are moving forward to develop similar projects,” said Damjanović.

Nearly a hundred other investors are following their path. However, it is already clear that there will not be enough space on the distribution grid for many of them.

Milica Vujošević from the Renewable Energy Department of the Montenegrin Electric Distribution System (CEDIS)stated that the existing distribution grid is designed and built to supply end-users, not to accommodate new energy sources and new producers and the disproportionately high level of interest.

To connect all of them to the distribution grid, it is necessary to invest up to 15 million euros in new infrastructure first, and the current state, according to CEDIS, leaves little room for new projects.

“We have some available space on the grid for connecting new power plants in the area of the Boka Kotorska Bay, around Budva, Bar, and in Žabljak,” Vujošević said.

At Čevo Solar, they were the fastest, so now they are slowly reaping the rewards of their vision.

“Special thanks to the Capital City of Cetinje, which had the insight to understand the importance and magnitude of this project and the interest in it. This power plant employs 7 workers, 4 of whom are from this area,” Damjanović noted.

Damjanović mentioned that the sun did not warm them when they initially sought to secure a favourable loan from the state and the Investment and Development Fund for the project, which is why they sought their place under the sun through commercial banks at much higher interest rates.