Oil company INA to install largest solar power plant in Croatia

Croatia-based oil company INA has signed a contract with Končar – Energy and Transport Engineering for the installation of solar power plants Virje and Sisak, with a total capacity of 11.6 megawatts (MW).

The beginning of construction is planned for the spring, and the power plants are expected to be online in 2023.

Virje, with a capacity of 9 MW, is becoming the largest solar power plant under construction in Croatia, INA said. Of note, currently the largest photovoltaic facility in the country is located on island Vis, with a capacity of 3.5 MW. It is operated by power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP).

The solar power plants will be built near INA’s gas and oil facilities

Virje and Sisak, with a capacity of 2.6 MW, are expected to produce 16,400 MWh annually, INA said.

Virje will be located next to INA’s Molve Central Gas Station, where it produces gas, and the Sisak facility will be within the Sisak industrial center, a project for the transformation of the company’s oil refinery. Of note, the company previously announced plans to construct a bioethanol plant at the same location.

Fasimon: the first step in creating a green energy production portfolio

Sándor Fasimon, President of the Management Board of INA, said the PV facilities are yet another step in transforming INA into an energy company. The two units represent the first step in creating a portfolio in the production of electricity from renewable sources, he added.

According to Gordan Kolak, President of the Management Board of Končar, the company will install its equipment in all substations, and its platform PROZA NET would be used for the digitalization of the PV facilities.

INA is majority-owned by Hungarian MOL.