Developers eye 420 MW of new renewables capacity in Croatia
Date: July 17th 2024
Author: Dalibor Dobrić
Category: En.vision
Topic:
Electricity
, Renewables
Since the beginning of July, Croatia’s ministry of environmental protection and green transition has received 18 requests from developers of potential renewables projects for assessment of the need for an environmental impact assessment.
Not all of these projects will get to the construction phase, as the assessment is a preliminary step before the permitting process begins, but they demonstrate the heightened level of interest among investors.Croatia significantly ramped up its renewables ambitions in its new National Energy and Climate Plan, and it now plans to add 3.6 GW of solar capacity to its energy mix by 2030.
Proposed projects
Documents posted on the ministry’s website show that the proposed projects range from 1 to 90 MW. They comprise two 20 MW wind farms near the coastal city of Zadar, one 7.5 MW agrivoltaic plant further south and 15 solar projects scattered across the country.
Among them are a 90 MW plant near the capital Zagreb, a 67.8 MW plant near Karlovac in central part of the country and a 48 MW plant in Kostrena, in the northern coastal region.
One of the interested investors is the renewables arm of Ukraine’s DTEK, DRI, which recently acquired the 127.5 MW Brda Umovi wind farm project in the Dalmatia region, and is now exploring the possibility of building a 60 MW solar plant adjacent to it.
The company’s CEO John Stuart told Montel recently that the mooted Vedrine solar plant would not be collocated with the wind farm, but would “benefit from shared infrastructure”, as the company is also constructing an SS 400/110 kV substation.
Hurdles
Hurdles remain, however. The lengthy permitting process, low grid connection capacity and the continued uncertainty over the grid connection fee — which the energy regulator Hera should have adopted almost two years ago — are hampering renewables rollout.
Croatia’s solar capacity stood at a relatively modest 653.8 MW at the end of June, despite having more than doubled in 2023 and risen by a further 178 MW in the first half of 2024.
https://www.energetika.net/eu/novice/trading/croatia-adds-178-mw-of-solar-in-h1-2024-%E2%80%93-dso
https://www.energetika.net/eu/novice/trading/croatia-adds-178-mw-of-solar-in-h1-2024-%E2%80%93-dso
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