Croatia’s HEP commissions country’s largest solar power plant in Obrovac

Solar power plant Obrovac is the largest in Croatia, at 8.7 MW in nameplate capacity and a 7.35 MW connection, and seventh in HEP Group’s portfolio. The state-owned utility said it would complete two slightly bigger units just this year and that it plans to start the construction next year of the Korlat photovoltaic facility, with respective capacities of 99 MW and 75 MW.

Hrvatska elektroprivreda – HEP Group is making headway in the energy transition and the deployment of renewable energy. The Croatian state-controlled electricity utility is at the top of the chart in the country in the solar power segment. Until just days ago its photovoltaic unit in Vis island was the biggest, but the newest one won’t keep the title for long. Solar power plant Obrovac was put into regular operation with its 8.7 MW peak capacity and 7.35 MW in connection power.

The facility, worth EUR 6.9 million, was built on 11.7 hectares at the location of the defunct Jadral alumina factory. Interenergo operates a wind park at an adjacent site. The solar park’s estimated annual output of 11.3 GWh can meet the electricity demand of 3,500 Croatian households.

Panels were bought from domestic manufacturer

The facility consists of 27,544 photovoltaic modules. It is particularly significant that they were delivered by Croatian manufacturer Solvis. With the exception of Turkey, which has strict requirements for investors in the segment, but also provides subsidies, the renewables equipment industry in the region covered by Balkan Green Energy News is still in an early stage of development.

The Obrovac solar power plant, located in the southern coastal Zadar county in Dalmatia, is the seventh of its kind in HEP Group’s arsenal.

The company is preparing to commission its Donja Dubrava photovoltaic facility with a 9.9 MW connection capacity in Međimurje, in Croatia’s far north, followed by the Radosavci 10 MW unit near Slatina in the northeast. The two projects are envisaged with a peak capacity (in direct current terms) of 12.35 MW and 13.2 MW, respectively.

Moreover, next year HEP Group plans to start building its Korlat photovoltaic plant of 99 MW in nominal capacity and a 75 MW connection. The investment is valued at EUR 80 million. The location is next to its only wind park, also called Korlat, near Benkovac in Dalmatia. The integration of the two power stations would create the country’s first hybrid power plant.

Sixty renewable energy projects are in pipeline

HEP is developing projects for 11 solar power plants and another wind farm. It plans 60 projects with a combined capacity of 1.5 GW, in which it intends to invest EUR 1.6 billion, President of the Management Board Frane Barbarić said.

Most of them are in the coastal areas. The utility’s chief noted that hefty investments are underway in the electricity distribution and transmission networks including EUR 30 million earmarked for 13 subsea cables to connect Adriatic islands with the mainland grid.