Wpd plans hybrid power plant in Croatia – boosting output with no extra burden on grid

German renewable energy developer wpd plans to build a solar power plant at the site of its existing wind farm Katuni in Croatia. Hybrid energy, an innovative approach that has already taken root in the European Union, enables a significant increase in electricity output without adding any extra load to the grid, according to a press release from wpd.

Thanks to an advanced management system, the new solar power plant with an installed capacity of 30 MW and the existing wind farm with a capacity of 34.2 MW will together deliver a maximum of 39 MW to the grid at a time, which is in line with wpd’s existing connection contract with the transmission system operator, the announcement reads.

The new solar power plant will generate 45 GWh a year

Wind farm Katuni has an annual output of about 80 GWh, and the new solar power plant will add another 45 GWh, making overall production at the hybrid facility sufficient to cover the average annual consumption of more than 35,000 households.

The Katuni hybrid power plant project, worth EUR 30 million, has been under development for three years. Given that it has already obtained environmental approval, and that it will use the existing grid connection, wpd hopes to get a building permit this year, and to realize the investment as early as 2024.

Obradović: Wpd’s new projects in Croatia are waiting for the adoption of by-laws

However, Zoran Obradović, managing director of wpd Adria, said the company is moderately cautious when it comes to deadlines, because it has been waiting for the adoption of by-laws for new projects in Croatia for almost two years, due to a regulatory vacuum created in 2016.

Ambassador Hellbach: Croatia needs to implement the energy transition swiftly and efficiently

The Katuni hybrid power plant project was presented during a visit to the facility by German Ambassador Christian Helbach, who said that Croatia has great renewable energy potential and that it should swiftly and efficiently implement the energy transition, which he stressed is necessary for decarbonization and independence from energy imports.

“Such an opportunity for a country with great natural potential like Croatia will not last forever and should be seized in the next few years,” said Hellbach.

Wpd is developing projects of more than 1,500 MW in total in the region

Germany-based wpd, through its subsidiary wpd Adria, is developing more than 1,500 MW in projects in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, it revealed in the statement.

In addition to Katuni in Šestanovac, in Dalmatia, wpd has built two wind farms near Šibenik – Trtar-Krtolin and Orlice – as well as the Ponikve facility on the Pelješac peninsula. With a total of 92 MW of installed capacity, wpd delivers around 220 GWh of clean energy to the Croatian power system every year, reads the press release.