Solar power brightens the future for a Bosnian company
A large solar power plants to supply a company’s own needs has been installed with EU support by a food company from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
09/09/2022
Madi, based in Tešanj, is one of the few companies authorised to export fresh chicken meat to the European Union. The company was founded in 1989 and in 2000 they launched their first chicken meat processing facility. By 2015 they had introduced the largest and most modern poultry slaughterhouse in the region with a capacity of 6,000 broilers per hour and 24 million birds per year. Today they are recognised as the market leader in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on Madi, despite it being one of the most successful companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company suffered supply problems and had to review their spending and save where possible. To combat the problem the management decided to form a task force to optimise expenditure.
“We were always aware that electricity was one of our biggest costs. One of the first things we analysed was how to reduce energy costs. After detailed research we came to the conclusion that installing a solar power plant would be one of the best solutions.”
Mirel Dedukić, Commercial Director, Madi d.o. TešanjMirel Dedukić was assigned as the head of this task force. He explains that one of the main items of expenditure that they noticed was electricity. “We were always aware that electricity was one of our biggest costs. One of the first things we analysed was how to reduce energy costs.”
He knew that Madi’s highest electricity need was during the summer where solar panels would be at maximum production capacity. “After detailed research we came to the conclusion that installing a solar power plant would be one of the best solutions”, he explains. The company then embarked on an investment that is unique in BiH.
While Madi was working on their own feasibility study for investing in the solar panel power plant, the EU-funded EU4AGRI programme launched a call for proposals. The call included meat industry companies. “We had our project almost ready and it was easy for us to apply to the call,” says Mirel.
With co-financing from EU4AGRI, Madi installed a solar power plant with a capacity of 1,000 kW. The power plant was installed in three production halls taking up 5500 m2. Total annual production capacity is 1,147 MWh, which covers 15% of the company’s electricity consumption. In addition, in 2021 they installed another solar power plant with a capacity of 1,000 kW, so now over 30% of their electricity comes from renewable sources.
“We are very proud that we have contributed to the preservation of the environment with this project. On top of that, we have reduced our costs and reached self-sustainability in the supply of electricity.”
Mirel Dedukić, Commercial Director, Madi d.o. TešanjAccording to Mirel, the energy produced by their solar power plant represents a reduction of slightly more than 1,800,000 kg of CO2 pollution, the equivalent of saving 600,000 litres of diesel or 800 tons of coal. “We are very proud that we have contributed to the preservation of the environment with this project. On top of that, we have reduced our costs and reached self-sustainability in the supply of electricity,”says Mirel.
The plan for the future is for Madi to remain the largest company in the meat industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina, through a continuous investment in human resources and modern technology. In addition, they have a launched a new company “Mipower d.o.o.”, which will focus full-time on the production and trade of electrical energy. They plan to install at least another 10MW of solar panels.
About the project
The EU4AGRI project is a four-year initiative (2020-2024) aimed at modernising the agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, creating new jobs, as well as retaining existing ones, and supporting recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The total value of the project is €20.25 million, mainly funded by the European Union, but jointly implemented and co-financed by the Czech Development Agency and the United Nations Development Programme in BiH.
The EU4AGRI project has so far supported BiH farmers and enterprises with 45 investments worth nearly €5.5 million, of which over €3.2 million was financed by the European Union.
Photo credits: MADI