Investor – Elektroprivreda BiH
Location – Podvelez
Canton – Hercegovina-Neretva (Mostar)
State – Bosnia Herzegovina
Sea level – 875 m
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) covers a total area of 51,129 km² and has a total population of 4 million. The federation consists of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosnian/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serbled Republic Srpska.
Wind Farm Site
The proposed demonstration site is part of the planned Podvelez wind farm which is located on the plateau of Podvelez, about 10 km east of the City Mostar. The plateau where the wind farm is planned ranges along the Velez Mountain (1,987 m) and falls off steeply to Mostar in the South-West. The density of population in the area of Podvelez is very low, the total number of inhabitants is 1,050 persons in all together 13 small villages, all located on the Lower Podvelez. Before the war in 1993 the area was inhabited by more than 3,000 people.
Wind potential at Podvelez
The wind flow on the plateau of Podvelez is mainly caused by the Adriatic wind system called ‘Bora’. Additionally, the valley of the river Neretva has the effect of a channel since its east-west course provides access into the barrier of the Dinaric mountain range. The local wind flow on the plateau of Podvelez is also influenced by the Velez massif and the steep and cliffy formation of the karst. Since 2002 wind measurements have been carried out at different locations on the plateau and assisted by model calculations the configuration the wind farm layout was optimized. The wind conditions at Podvelez Plateau are calculated with an average wind speed of 7.2 m/s and power density of 520 W/m² at hub height.
Wind farm project Podvelez
The wind farm Podvelez will consist – in its final stage – of 16 wind turbines with a total capacity of 60 MW. The estimated energy production per turbine is 4.8 GWh/year and the whole wind farm will generate up to 150 GWh per year which means 1.5% of the electricity consumption of the Federation. The turbines are placed at three different locations at the plateau of Podvelez and the wind farm will be implemented in three phases.
