Croatia to install 22 solar power plants on public buildings

Croatia will get 22 solar power plants with a total capacity of 1 MW on the roofs of public buildings. The project partners announced the start of implementation of the Good Energy – Solar Energy for Energy Transition project at a conference in Poreč.

Public buildings in the Istria county, Cres, Čakovec, Zaprešić, and Ivanić-Grad will be equipped with 22 solar power plants with a total power of 1 MW. Project partners announced at a conference in Poreč that the facilities, of which seven are planned in Istria, would be completed by the spring of 2024.

The project envisages 22 solar power plants on public buildings with a total power of 1 MW

The project is worth EUR 1.4 million, of which EUR 1.1 million was obtained from European funds.

The Istria County will carry out the project. Its partners are the local authorities of Poreč, Pula, Cres, Čakovec, Zaprešić, and Ivanić-Grad, the Istrian Regional Energy Agency (IRENA), the Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ), and two bilateral partners from Norway: Greenstaat Energy and Stiftelsen Seed Forum Norway.

Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway provided grants through the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 as part of the Energy and Climate Change program. The project has received approval from Croatia’s Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds.

New solar capacities in Istria county and other cities and towns will enable a more active involvement of citizens in the transition to renewable energy sources, the project partners said.

The project includes a non-formal education program for installers of photovoltaic plants

At the public facilities with newly installed solar power plants, citizens can get information about investments in solar power plants for households. The project also envisages a program for non-formal education for installers of photovoltaic plants.

The project is an example of how to follow the directives from the European Green Deal, Istria County Prefect Boris Miletić said.

Investing in solar energy is a social investment, and it should be inclusive, the Green Energy Cooperative pointed out. One of the safe pathways to achieve it is civic energy – citizens’ investments in renewable energy through the construction of their own plants or participating in investments in public solar power plants, said Zoran Kordić from ZEZ.