Nordex Group to supply turbines for HEP’s first wind farm

Croatia’s state-owned power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP Group) has placed an order with German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex Group for the supply of 18 N131/3600 turbines for the Korlat wind farm, according to a press release from the German group.

Korlat is the first wind farm in HEP Group’s power plant portfolio. The Nordex Group is also responsible for service and maintenance of the turbines for a period of 20 years on the basis of a Premium Service Agreement.

The Korlat wind farm is to be set up some 40 kilometers from the port of Zadar, near Benkovac, a town in the interior of the country. The wind farm has an altitude of between 270 and 340 meters above sea level. The wind speed at the site is a moderate 7.2 meters per second, ideal conditions for the N131/3600, which is specifically designed for moderate and very low wind speeds, according to the press release.

The delivery of the turbines is planned to start at the end of 2019. The wind farm is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2020. The Korlat wind farm’s expected production is around 170 GWh, which is around 1.5% of Croatian electricity consumption.

“WPP Korlat will be the first wind power plant in our generation portfolio, but also the first power plant in Croatia to generate electricity without incentives. In preparation are other wind power plant projects, which are developed as part of renewable development scenario,” said HEP Management Board President Frane Barbarić.

HEP said earlier that it plans to invest around EUR 135 million in renewable energy sources on average annually, in what will enable it to increase the renewables share from 35% to 50% by 2030.

HEP plans to achieve the target through the rehabilitation of hydropower plants (HPPs), which will increase the existing HPPs’ capacity and output, as well as through the construction of new HPPs and investments in other renewable energy sources.