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Investors are unable to meet deadlines for the construction of their renewable electricity plants because they cannot get all the necessary permits on time, according to the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia association.
The procedures for obtaining location, construction and operating permits for current projects for power plants running on renewable sources have been halted, so it will likely not be possible to build power plants in line with the deadlines set in the Law on the Electricity Market, the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia association (RES Croatia) said.
The association noted that grid connections are among the bottlenecks in project development.
The key condition for initiating a new investment cycle is for the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) to adopt a decision on the grid connection fee, the organization said. It was scheduled to be rolled out by the end of last year, it added.
Without the necessary grid connection fee regulation, renewable energy projects are blocked
Without regulating the grid connection fee, all green electricity projects are practically at a standstill, according to the association. Investors can’t submit the documentation necessary for obtaining the grid connection approval and other permits.
According to the said law, developers are obliged to get all permits and build the facility within seven years, of which five years from obtaining the energy permit, RES Croatia pointed out.
The association attributed the standstill to the 2022 methodology for determining the grid connection fee as well as to the new rules of the Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS).
It said HOPS can limit the amount of electricity it offtakes from renewable power plants and that it created uncertainty for producers.
If the operator can disconnect renewables from the grid whenever and for however long it seems fit, no financial institution will decide to participate in such projects because there is no mechanism to guarantee loan repayment, RES Croatia underscored.
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