Photo: Marcin from Pixabay
Croatian Energy Market Operator HROTE issued a call for auctions for premiums for wind, solar and hydropower plants.
The premiums will be awarded for wind power plants with 150 MW in total capacity, solar parks of a combined 450 MW and hydropower plants of an overall 7.25 MW. HROTE estimated the support for the 607.25 MW encompassed by the call at EUR 257.2 million.
The subsidy allocation process consists of two phases. HROTE issued the rules and a public call for qualifications for participation in the public tender for premiums, which will last 60 days. When the deadline expires, the regulatory body is expected to launch a call for bids of 15 days.
The tender is divided into two segments. One is for awarding market premiums for facilities with an installed capacity of more than 1 MW each, with the following quotas:
- Solar power plants – 350 MW
- Wind farms – 60 MW
- Hydropower plants – 7.25 MW.
The maximum reference values for premiums per megawatt-hour are EUR 67.05 for photovoltaics, EUR 75.27 for wind and EUR 158.3 for hydropower.
The other segment is for premiums for wind power plants with a capacity from 200 kW to 18 MW each and solar power plants with an individual capacity of 200 kW to 6 MW. The quota for wind is 90 MW, and for solar power projects it amounts to 100 MW.
All types of projects between 200 kW and 1 MW are eligible for support. Separately, small and medium enterprises and renewable energy communities can qualify their PV and wind projects of up to 6 MW, while micro and small firms and renewable energy communities can get subsidies for wind farms of 200 kW to 18 MW.
The maximum reference values of premiums for solar are EUR 82.04, and EUR 75.27 for wind.
Subsidies must be distributed by the end of the year
It is the second round of auctions since Croatia introduced the renewable energy subsidy mechanism in mid-2020. The first one for small units was held in early 2021 and the first one for utility-scale projects was conducted in July 2022. The response was poor.
HROTE initially planned to launch the current round last October.
The public call is in line with the government’s subsidy program for incentivizing renewables and high-efficiency cogeneration with market premiums and feed-in tariffs, the institution said. HROTE adopted it two days before kicking off the tender.
Total subsidies are estimated at EUR 286.6 million, according to the program. The sum includes another tender, for guaranteed purchase prices, for facilities with a capacity from 50 kW to 200 kW each. The quotas are 50 MW for solar and 1 MW for hydropower.
The deadline to allocate the subsidies planned under the program is December 31.
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