Croatia’s largest wind farm Senj joins GEN-I’s virtual power plant

GEN-I Hrvatska added Senj, the largest wind farm in Croatia, to GEN-I Group’s virtual power plant. The Slovenian company is now also an aggregator providing system services to Croatia’s transmission system operator HOPS.

The Senj wind farm of 156 MW obtained a license last month to switch from trial production to regular operation. In late September, the facility also joined GEN-I Group’s virtual power plant. The company said the move made it one of the biggest aggregators in Croatia. GEN-I Group is part of Slovenia’s state-owned power utility GEN Energija.

The company also signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) and a flexibility agreement with Energija Projekt, which owns the Senj wind farm. The PPA includes the purchase of guarantees of origin. Energija Projekt is majority-owned by Norinco International Cooperation, headquartered in China.

GEN-I Group said the product, which it developed on its own, is the first combination of PPA purchases the provision of system services.

GEN-I Group’s virtual power plant now manages more than 100 generating units and consumers in five countries

The PPA gives the wind farm access to the market for its electricity, as well as all the necessary trading infrastructure for selling it, including by ensuring pre-set prices for certain periods and balancing surpluses and shortfalls. It provides a stable and predictable source of income for the Senj facility, reducing financial risks associated with energy price fluctuations, according to GEN-I.

The signing of an agreement between its Croatian subsidiary GEN-I Hrvatska and the country’s TSO Hrvatski Operator Prijenosnog Sustava (HOPS) has made GEN-I Group an aggregator providing system services.

The virtual power plant has been in operation since 2015

The virtual power plant has been in operation since 2015. With the addition of the Senj wind farm, it now manages more than 100 dispersed generating units and consumers in five countries, the company said.

GEN-I’s virtual power plant is making a major contribution to maintaining the stability of the electricity network through system solutions for HOPS, providing a negative tertiary reserve, according to the update.

It is an advanced electricity management system that brings the network of dispersed energy sources, users and energy storage systems into a common platform. The smart system adapts to the situation in the electricity distribution system in real time, bringing added value to owners of production sources and the electricity system as a whole.