This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.

Overview

BiH has significant renewable energy potential, particularly in hydropower and wind power capacity.  Hydropower provided  35 percent of the country’s total electricity production in 2018 and there is room for additional growth.  According to a study conducted by the German government, BiH could generate up to 2000 MW of wind energy per year, primarily in the areas of Livno, Tomislavgrad, Mostar and Trebinje.  This nascent industry still faces a number of regulatory and financial challenges.
The country’s first wind farm near the Federation town of Tomislavgrad began operating in March 2018.  The 82 million euro ($101.1 million), 50.6 MW wind farm has 22 wind turbines and an annual output of about 165 GWh. 
 

Leading Sub-Sectors

  • Equipment for wind farms

  • Equipment for hydro power plants


Opportunities

In the Federation, there are opportunities for construction of small hydro power plants and wind powered plants, but due to lack of harmonization and adequate concession legislation between the canton and Federation-level governments, those opportunities will be somewhat limited in the near term.  In 2011, the RS government announced it would begin selecting strategic partners for construction of 24 new hydro and thermal power plants.  This could create significant opportunities for sale of power generation equipment as well as possible opportunities for power plant management contracts.  As of this report's publication, the projects are still on hold.  In December 2013, German state-owned development bank KfW (Reconstruction Credit Institute) approved an $89 million loan for the construction of Podvelezje wind farm in BiH.  The project will be implemented by Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH), one of BiH’s three power utility companies.  The total cost of the project is estimated at $97 million and EPBiH will directly fund the remaining $8 million from its own sources. The Podvelezje wind farm will have 16 wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 48 megawatts and annual power production of approximately 100 Gigawatt hours. Construction of the Podvelezje wind farm near Mostar will start in the last quarter of 2019.  In the RS, U.K.-based company Kermas plans to invest $105 million in a 51 megawatt (MW) wind park at Trusina in the municipality of Nevesinje, as a strategic partner of local company Eol Prvi, although the RS government recently cancelled its concession with this local firm.  At the time of publishing this report this project is still in the pre-construction phase and it is unknown if, and when, construction will commence.
In January 2016, Bosnian company Gradina signed an MOU with the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and the China-Africa Investment and Development Corporation for construction of a 112 MW, 35-turbine, $162 million wind farm near the Federation’s Tomislavgrad in southwestern BiH.  CMEC and the China-Africa Investment and Development Corporation are expected to invest 90 percent of the total estimated cost of the project, while the rest will be financed from local sources.  Once completed, the wind farm will diversify energy sources and increase the share of renewables in the country’s electricity production.

In October 2017, IMRES Smart Greenergy, a local company, and Turkish engineering firm Enprode signed a deal for the construction of an EUR 1.6 billion ($1.9 billion), 51 MW wind farm and for research projects to build a reversible hydroelectric power plant (HPP). 

In May 2018, China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) announced it is interested in building two 50 MW wind farms in the Central Bosnia Canton in partnership with local firms. Total value of the entire investment would be around 140 million EUR ($165 million) and would be financed by the Chinese EXIM Bank.
 

Web Resources

BiH Electricity Regulatory Commission
Elektroprenos (BiH Electricity Transmission Company aka Transco)
Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH)
Elektroprivreda Hrvatske Zajednice Herceg-Bosna (EPHZHB)
Elektroprivreda Republika Srpske (EPRS)
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Regulatory Commission for Electricity in the Federation BiH
Regulatory Commission for Energy of the Republika Srpska  
World Bank

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