Croatia launches second phase of premiums auctions for wind, solar, hydropower

Croatian Energy Market Operator HROTE has launched public bidding for premiums for wind, solar and hydropower plants. The public bidding, with a June 27 bid submission deadline, is the second phase of the procedure to award the premiums. The first phase, a public call with eligibility requirements, was launched on April 12 and lasted 60 days.

The premiums will be awarded for wind power plants with a total capacity of 150 MW, solar parks of a combined capacity of 450 MW, and hydropower plants with an overall capacity of 7.25 MW. HROTE estimated that the support for the 607.25 MW capacity encompassed by the call would amount EUR 257.2 million.

A participant may submit only one bid for an individual production plant or unit. To ensure the bidding is competitive, HROTE needs to receive at least three valid offers for each group of power plants, according to the public invitation.

The maximum individual premium is EUR 30 million

The maximum premium per individual project is EUR 30 million, and the participants must submit bank guarantees in the amount of EUR 6.636 per kW of connected capacity.

If the total connected capacity in valid bids is greater than the defined quota for a certain group of facilities, the criterion for awarding the premiums will be the lowest offered reference price, while bids with the same reference price will be ranked by the proposed connected capacity, also from lowest to highest.

If the interest exceeds the quota, the lowest offered price and the lowest connected capacity will have priority

HROTE will select the best bidders within 30 days from the bid submission deadline. According to earlier announcements, subsidies must be distributed by December 31 of this year.

The bidding 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: 350 MW for solar power plants, 60 MW for wind farms, and 7.25 MW for hydropower plants. The maximum reference values 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 100 MW.

Renewable energy communities are also eligible to bid

All types of projects between 200 kW and 1 MW are eligible for support. Separately, small and medium enterprises and renewable energy communities can bid with PV and wind projects of up to 6 MW, while micro and small firms and renewable energy communities can get subsidies for wind farms ranging from 200 kW to 18 MW. The maximum reference value is EUR 82.04 for solar and EUR 75.27 for wind.

Solar and wind power plants of 200 kW to 6 MW can also apply for subsidies if the projects are 100% owned by small or medium-sized enterprises or renewable energy communities. So can wind power plants of 200 kW to 18 MW, if the projects are fully owned by micro or small businesses or renewable energy communities.

The maximum reference value for solar power plants is EUR 82.04 per MWh, and EUR 75.27 for wind power plants.

HROTE also plans a public call for feed-in tariffs for solar and hydropower

The premiums are awarded in line with the government’s subsidy program for incentivizing renewables and high-efficiency cogeneration with market premiums and feed-in tariffs. Apart from the two segments above, the program also envisages the allocation of feed-in tariffs, or guaranteed purchase prices, for power plants ranging from 50 kW to 200 kW. The quota is 50 MW for solar and 1 MW for hydropower, and the public call is yet to be announced.