HEP Group starts trial of Croatia’s largest solar power plant as part of hybrid facility

State-owned Hrvatska elektroprivreda – HEP Group has launched the test run of its 99 MW Korlat photovoltaic system, the largest in Croatia. It is integrated with the eponymous wind farm into the first hybrid power plant of its kind in the country.

Croatian power utility Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP Group) launched in mid-February the trial operation of its Korlat solar park in the Ravni kotari area of northern Dalmatia. The consortium of contractors completed the works in 14 months, as planned. It consists of Shandong Electric Power Engineering Consulting Institute (SDEPCI) and Norinco International Cooperation, part of China North Industries Group.

The site is in the Ravni kotari area in northern Dalmatia, just outside the village of Korlat and northeast of the town of Benkovac. The state-owned power utility expects the solar power plant to generate 165 GWh per year.

Korlat features single-axis solar tracking system

At 99 MW in peak capacity and a 75 MW grid connection, the Korlat PV plant is the biggest in Croatia. The modules move on a single-axis solar tracking system.

HEP Group financed the EUR 70 million project with a loan of EUR 62 million. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided EUR 31.6 million, and the rest is from the European Investment Bank, EIB.

Spanning 150 hectares, the Korlat solar park makes up a hybrid power plant with the company’s wind farm of the same name. They are connected to the transmission network via the Korlat substation of 33/110 kV. It is the only hybrid power plant of its kind in Croatia.

Several large PV projects underway in Dalmatia

HEP Group commissioned its first and only wind park in 2021. It consists of 18 turbines manufactured by Nordex.

Few solar projects in Croatia are for a larger capacity than Korlat. In 2024, Acciona Energia won a contract for difference for a 189 MW endeavor called Promina, and Aurelis Solis was successful with its proposal for 144 MW in Obrovac Sinjski. Both are also in Dalmatia.

Bokšić is another project for 99 MW in peak capacity, but a larger grid connection. The location is in the country’s northeast.

HEP Group is planning a 91 MW facility in Crno, outside of the city of Zadar. The site is some 20 kilometers west of Korlat.

Croatia surpassed 1 GW in overall solar power capacity a year ago.