Croatia sets new record in renewable energy production

Croatia has set a new record on Sunday, December 6, in the production of energy from renewable sources, covering on that day the entire consumption in the country with hydropower plants and wind farms.

Croatian transmission system operator (TSO) HOPS has announced that due to weather conditions, heavy rains and strong wind, production in hydropower plants and wind farms yesterday reached 48 GWh, while consumption was 47 GWh. It added that it was a serious test for the energy system in handling an enormous volume of green energy and analyzing the possibility of integrating new renewable power units.

Hydropower plants and wind farms produced 48 GWh, and consumption was 47 GWh, so energy was exported

Total installed capacity of power plants in Croatia at the end of 2019 was 4,817 MW, of which 1,127 MW in hydropower plants, 2,019 MW in thermal power plants and 671 MW in wind power plants. The share of hydropower plants in production was about 53% last year, thermal power plants on coal and gas and nuclear power plant Krško accounted for about 35%, and wind farms had 10%.

According to HOPS, hydropower plants produced more than 30 GWh yesterday and output reached almost 1,400 MWh/h. New renewable energy sources added 843 MWh/h, where the majority was produced by wind farms, with a total installed capacity of 800 MW. The maximum production in wind power plants was about 717 MWh/h.

High green energy production is a test of whether a transmission system can maintain stability with new renewable power plants

Record production occurred on a Sunday, when consumption is usually the lowest, so the Croatian transmission network was put to a serious test to ensure the integration of large quantities of energy and export surplus to neighboring countries, HOPS said.

The country exported more than 1,100 MWh/h yesterday, which is a kind of a record because Croatia normally covers 20% to 40% of annual electricity needs with imports.

There is a large number of requirements for the connection of renewable power plants in Dalmatia

Yesterday’s situation can be seen as a serious live experiment for some extreme situations that are being analyzed for the development of the transmission network. Although rare, such events require a response.

The issue is also significant due to the requests for connecting renewable energy power plants with a large combined capacity in the Dalmatian area, because the capacity that could be connected without a significant expansion of the transmission network is questionable, according to HOPS.