Croatian households double solar requests in 2022

Croatian households double solar requests in 2022 - Eon Hrvatska

Date: August 16^th 2022

Topic: Electricity , Renewables , Energy policy

The requests received from Croatian households for solar installations have doubled this year in comparison to the same period in 2021, the energy company Eon Hrvatska’s press office told Montel last week.

“Demand from small businesses for solar installations with a maximum capacity of 100 kW has spiked at 300%,” said Eon Hrvatska in an e-mailed statement, adding that this increase in demand reflects a growing awareness of the benefits and profitability of solar power plants.

Despite inflation and the unpredictability of supply chains, Eon Hrvatska has minimised the risk of interrupted equipment deliveries and price hikes through timely planning, it added.

Asked to comment on the shortage of solar technicians on the Croatian labour market, the press office said that the country would probably need to invite foreign workers to cover this increased demand, as many Croatian electricians had moved abroad since Croatia joined the European Union in 2013.

It also noted that interest in pursuing a career in electrical engineering had been falling for years.

Eon Hrvatska has installed more than 700 household rooftop solar power plants in Croatia, which roughly represents 40% of household solar installations in Croatia, said Eon Hrvatska’s director Vladimir Sabo in an interview for the Croatian business daily Poslovni Dnevnik in June.

At the time, Sabo said that there is the potential for over 600 thousand households in Croatia to install solar panels.

It is also worth mentioning that the company recently presented the first solar power plant project within the ESCO financing model for the Croatian hotel company Valamar Riviera.

According to Valamar’s press release from December 2021, the installed solar panels are owned by Eon's subsidiary Solnet, while all electricity produced is delivered to Valamar's 26 hotels and campsites on the Adriatic coast, thereby covering 5% of the company's energy needs.

A return on this investment is expected in ten years, at which point Valamar will become the owner of the panels, Eon Hrvatska told the news portal SeeNews last year.