Zagreb starts implementation of program to boost solar rooftops

The City of Zagreb has secured EUR 1 million from a Norwegian financial mechanism for the installation of solar power plants on the roofs of eight public buildings.

The installation of solar panels with a capacity of 1.4 megawatts (MW) is the beginning of the realization of the program to support the installation of solar panels on the roofs in Zagreb, which was adopted by the city parliament at the end of last year. The program is for the installation of solar panels with a total capacity of 50 MW.

Mayor Tomislav Tomašević stated that he expects the signing of contracts for eight buildings in a month, after which the implementation of the projects would begin. Photovoltaic panels will be placed at swimming pools Utrina, Svetica and Jelkovec, kindergarten Trnsko, psychiatric hospital Sv. Ivan, homes for the elderly Trešnjevka 1 and 2 and waste management utility Čistoća.

The capacity of the eight PV systems will be three times larger than the capacity of all solar power plants on public buildings in Zagreb

Eight solar power plants will have a capacity of 1.4 megawatts (MW), which is three times more than the current capacity of all photovoltaic systems on public buildings in the Croatian capital.

The goal is to install solar power plants on 500 buildings owned by the City of Zagreb and another 300 owned by the city’s utility company Zagreb Holding, in order to catch up with the solarization of European capitals contributing to the development of renewable energy sources and emissions reduction, said Tomašević.

Domac: Project preparation for 150 buildings is underway

The program is implemented by the City of Zagreb, Zagreb Holding and the North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency (REGEA).

Julije Domac, director of REGEA and advisor to Croatian President Zoran Milanović, said preliminary projects are being prepared and that electricity approval was obtained for about 150 buildings, while a detailed analysis of the possibility of installing solar panels was finished for 56 structures.

The project documentation for 100 buildings owned by Zagreb Holding should be completed by the end of the year, and by then the first solar panels will already be installed, Domac stressed, as quoted by Jutarnji list.