Alcazar Energy Seeks Public Interest Status for Wind Power Grid – Will Montenegrin Villagers Lose Their Land?
The company “Wind Park Bijela”, founded by Alcazar Energy, together with its partners in Montenegro, has submitted a request to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property—headed by Slaven Radunović (New Serbian Democracy)—asking the Government of Montenegro to declare public interest for the construction of a transmission line for the planned Bijela Wind Farm in the municipality of Šavnik.
This information was confirmed to VOP by the Ministry headed by Minister Radunović.
As a reminder, surveyors sent by Alcazar Energy, a company officially registered in the United Arab Emirates, recently entered private properties in the village of Gornja Brezna without the knowledge or consent of the landowners, in order to conduct measurements for the installation of poles and cables leading to the planned Brezna substation.
The residents of Gornja Brezna had already refused to cede their land to Alcazar Energy for this purpose, and after catching the company’s surveyors trespassing, they raised public alarm.
The villagers suspect that Alcazar Energy and its subsidiary “Wind Park Bijela” are trying to secure a public interest declaration from the Montenegrin government through lobbying and other means. They believe this would allow the state to expropriate their private land by force, with police assistance, in order to facilitate a private profit potentially worth hundreds of millions of euros.
The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property stated that there is currently no proposed decision to declare public interest for the private investor “Alcazar Energy”.
VOP also sent inquiries to the Ministry of Energy and Mining, headed by Minister Admir Šahmanović, asking whether they are aware of or involved in this case, and what their stance is on declaring public interest for a private investment. No response has yet been received.
“In response to your inquiry regarding whether the company Wind Park Bijela, founded by Alcazar Energy and its Montenegrin partners, requested that the Ministry declare public interest for the construction of a transmission line for the Bijela Wind Farm on properties where they do not have the consent of private owners, we clarify that the company signed a long-term lease agreement for state-owned land on October 25, 2023 (Contract No. UZZ.br.491/2023) for the purpose of constructing the wind farm in the municipality of Šavnik,” the ministry stated in their written response.
They explain that the purpose of the public tender for leasing state-owned property for this project was to utilize the site for investment and development. “All domestic and foreign legal and natural persons, as well as consortia, had the right to participate in this tender. The selected lessee was the only bidder.”
They continue: “As the implementation of the investment began, the need arose to include a certain number of privately owned parcels in the project. The lessee therefore submitted a request for the declaration of public interest for expropriation in order to continue implementation of the Bijela Wind Farm in the municipality of Šavnik.”
The Ministry refers to the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources (“Official Gazette of Montenegro”, No. 82/24), which defines the use of renewable energy and the principle of “energy efficiency first” as a matter of public interest (Article 2).
They further explain that Article 14 of the Law on Expropriation allows the Government of Montenegro to declare public interest in the absence of a specific law, based on a detailed proposal, and that a request for public interest may be submitted by an entity entitled to benefit from expropriation. Additionally, Article 4 paragraph 2 of the Energy Law (“Official Gazette of Montenegro” No. 5/16, 51/17, 82/20, 29/22, 152/22, 84/24) stipulates that energy activities are of public interest, including electricity production.
The Ministry concludes that it will consider the initiative in cooperation with other state bodies, particularly the Ministry of Energy and Mining and the Property-Legal Protection Office, and make a decision in accordance with the law.
On the other hand, the residents of Gornja Brezna point to the Constitution of Montenegro, which, they stress, supersedes all legal regulations cited by Minister Radunović’s department.
“Montenegro is a signatory to international conventions that guarantee human and civil rights, including the right to a healthy environment and the inviolability of private property. The Constitution places these rights above domestic legislation. Declaring public interest in order to enable enormous profits for private companies is a criminal offense, and we will treat it as such. The only true public interest, not only in Gornja Brezna but throughout Montenegro, is the interest of its citizens. In our case, the public interest is the development of sustainable tourism and agriculture, and the revival of the north of the country, which is an official development strategy of Montenegro and a favorite talking point of state officials,” reads a written statement sent to us via email by the Local Council of Gornja Brezna.
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Translation by: M. Komlenac
