Croatia awards premiums for 420 MW of solar, hydropower projects

The Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE) awarded premiums for solar and hydropower plants with a total capacity of 420 MW. No wind farm project received subsidies. The regulatory body has offered a quota of 607 MW.

The auction call was issued in April, HROTE received 144 offers for a total of 713,38 MW in grid connection terms. HROTE declared 110 valid. It awarded premiums to 92 projects with a total capacity of 419.06 MW.

At the auctions, there were two support measures for different technologies.

The first measure are market premiums for solar power plants, wind farms and hydropower plants with a capacity of more than 1 MW each. Bids with a total connection capacity of 577 MW were submitted for photovoltaic plants. The quota was 350 MW. Premiums were awarded for nine proposed investments of an overall 330 MW. Here is the list of firms, projects and their size, with peak capacities in brackets:

• RP Global projekti – SE Novalja – 15 MW (15.2 MW)
• Aurelis solis – SE Obrovac Sinjski – 130 MW (144 MW)
• RP Global projekti – SE Rudine I – 9.99 MW (10.89 MW)
• Solarna elektrana Promina – SE Promina – 150 MW (188.58 MW)
• Nova Duga – SE Zabok 2 – 9.99 MW (10 MW)
• Cent – SE Zabok 1 – 9.99 MW (10 MW)
• Krčevina – SE Krčevine 5 – 1.99 MW (1.99 MW)
• Krčevina – SE Krčevine 4 – 1.99 MW (1.99 MW)
• Krčevina – SE Krčevine 3 – 1.99 MW (1.99 MW).

In hydropower, the quota was 7.25 MW. Bids came in for an overall 8.85 MW. Two projects with a combined capacity of 4.55 MW were declared eligible for subsidies.

For wind power plants, the quota was 60 MW, but only one offer was received. It wasn’t considered as at least three valid offers were required, HROTE said.

Average price ranges from EUR 56.54 per MWh to EUR 158.30 per MWh

The average reference price for photovoltaic plants was EUR 56.54 per MWh, compared to EUR 158.30 per MWh for hydropower plants.

The second segment are premiums for wind farms with an individual capacity from 200 kW to 18 MW and solar power plants with a capacity from 200 kW to 6 MW, for projects owned by micro, small and medium enterprises or renewable energy communities.

No offer was received for wind farms. A total of 81 photovoltaic projects received premiums, for 83.52 MW. All bids were valid. The quota was 100 MW.

The average reference price for PV facilities was EUR 77.78 per MWh.

The selected firms are obligated to submit guarantees for the construction of their plants to HROTE within 15 days. The amount of the guarantee is EUR 39,816 per kW, the regulator said.