58 MW Korlat, HEP’s first wind farm, officially starts operation

Wind farm Korlat, a EUR 66.2 million investment, is the first wind power plant in operation without feed-in tariffs in Croatia, and the first plant of its kind in the portfolio of state-owned power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP).

HEP plans to invest another EUR 66.2 million in the construction of a solar power plant with a peak capacity of 95 MW adjacent to the 58 MW Korlat wind farm  and create the first renewable hybrid energy park in Croatia. The company made the announcement as it inaugurated the system in the presence of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, and its President of the Management Board Frane Barbarić.

HEP will install a solar power plant next to the wind farm and establish the first hybrid energy park in Croatia

The Korlat wind farm is currently the largest wind farm in the country, given that the 142 MW Krš-Pađene is in trial operation and the 156 MW Senj wind farm is under construction.

Korlat is located eight kilometers northwest of Benkovac. It is on the territory of the municipalities of Kula Atlagića, Korlat and Gornje Biljane. The power plant consists of 18 wind turbines, with an installed capacity of 3.6 MW each. They were delivered, installed and put into operation by German Nordex, HEP said.

HEP is currently building or developing 50 renewable energy projects

The infrastructure and grid connection, monitoring and supervision were the responsibility of Croatian companies Ing-Grad and Fractal.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said the expected annual production of Korlat is 170 GWh or about 1% of annual electricity consumption in Croatia, adding it can cover the needs of 50,000 households. Frane Barbarić, President of the Management Board of HEP, said the company has 50 renewable energy projects throughout the country under construction or at various stages of development.

HEP plans to have up to 700 MW in wind and solar by 2030

Investments in wind and solar power plants are part of HEP’s plan for renewable energy sources, which began in 2019. Back then the company said it planned to invest an average of around EUR 135 million a year in green energy.

According to HEP, the first phase of the investment plan, which includes eight solar power plants with a total value of around EUR 26.5 million, is near completion.

The 220 MW Lišane Ostrovičke wind farm is under development

The company said it has finished its Obrovac and Stankovci solar power plants, with capacities of 7.35 MW and 2.5 MW, respectively. It expressed the size in alternating current terms, which means it is the maximum that can enter the grid. Of note, the peak capacity in Obrovac is 8.7 MW.

HEP connected the 3.5 MW Vis photovoltaic plant to the power system last year, while the construction of its 2.1 MW Vrlika Jug is nearing completion.

Solar power plants Sukošan (45 MW) and Kruševo (17 MW) are under development, as are wind farms Lišane Ostrovičke, with a capacity of 220 MW, and Zelovo, with a capacity of 30 MW.

HEP’s goal is to have 350 MW in wind and a matching capacity in solar by 2030.

The company said the implementation of its renewable development strategy by 2030 will increase the share of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity by 50% and the production of green energy from 6 TWh to 9 TWh.