HEP developing 168 MW of solar capacity with local authorities

Croatian state-owned power utility Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP) has signed agreements with local authorities on seven new solar power plant projects, with a total capacity of 60 MW. The investment in the plants is projected at around EUR 50.6 million.

With 11 projects agreed with local authorities following previous public calls, the overall solar capacity HEP is developing has climbed to 168 MW, in a total investment of about EUR 144 million. The estimated annual electricity output of the 18 future solar power plants is 242 GWh, enough to cover the needs of some 65,000 households.

The 18 solar power plants will generate 242 GWh of electricity a year

The latest round of agreements, based on the public call for 2020, were signed with the local authorities of six municipalities (Vrpolje, Lovinac, Orle, Zdenci, Satnica Đakovačka, and Trpinja) and one city (Valpovo). The largest among the seven facilities will be located in Satnica Đakovačka (15 MW) and Lovinac, Orle, and Zdenci (9,99 MW each).

HEP aims to have 350 MW of installed solar capacity by 2030

Frane Barbarić, President of the Management Board of HEP, said the company’s development strategy targets some 350 MW of installed solar capacity by 2030, while nearly half of it will be developed in cooperation with local authorities.

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćorić, who officiated at the signing ceremony, said the agreed solar projects demonstrate that decarbonization is under way not only at Croatia’s biggest energy company, but also at the local level.

EPBiH is looking to buy or lease land for solar power plants

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, state power utility Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) has issued a public call for municipalities, individuals, and legal entities to express interest in selling or leasing out land for the construction of photovoltaic power plants.

Land acquisition or lease for the installation of solar power plants as a model for boosting electricity production from renewable energy sources has already been applied by other state-owned power companies in the region.