Croatia launches public calls for 250 MW in solar, wind projects

• The Ministry of Economy and also Sustainable Development has launched public calls for issuing energy approvals for the building and construction of 14 solar power plants as well as one wind farm, with a total capacity of about 250 MW.

Croatia presented the energy approval under the Law on the Electricity Market in October 2021 with the aim to choose severe projects amongst all that gotten any kind of official paperwork. It was rolled out as one of the initial problems a capitalist must fulfill for developing a solar power plant or wind farm. At the time, the Ministry of Economy as well as Sustainable Development invited designers to submit projects by January 19, 2022, to receive energy approval. It obtained 216 applications.

The ministry assesses a requests before launching a public call or rejecting it. Financiers have actually been complaining the procedure is too slow which a handful of calls have actually been issued.

The present public call is for solar power plants Dubrava kod Tisna, Izlazak 1, Izlazak 2, Katuni, Nova 1, Nova 2, Primorski Dolac, Seget, Sukošan, Sutina, Velim, Voštane, Vršak and Žeževica, according to the announcement.

The incorporated capacity is, according to the regional media, regarding 180 MW. The Sutina photovoltaic center is the biggest one, with 45 MW. There os only one wind project, with a capacity of 72 MW. It is called Bradarića kosa.

The public calls for energy approval describe particular sites with projects for which investors submitted applications to the ministry.

An investor that obtains an energy approval need to pay the federal government EUR 6.6 per kW of intended capacity. For a 100 MW facility it is HRK 5 million or practically EUR 700,000. The energy approval becomes valid if the financier pays the cash within 15 days after it won it project with the public call.

Ivo Milatić, State Secretary for Energy at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, claimed that the energy approval was introduced to bring order into the field, and claimed that 216 applications would certainly be refined in 2 months. He approximated that out of the 6,000 MW in applications, 4,000 MW are projects that can not be implemented.

The ministry's employees should check all the details in the land signs up as well as confirm with the Spatial Planning Institute whether a project is certified with official planning records, Milatić stressed, indicating high expenses for approvals.

In 2015, in his words, energy approvals were issued for 700 MW, and also this year for a general 125 MW so far. The strategy is to have new facilities with a mounted capacity of 1,400 MW in total by 2024, he stated, Jutarnji checklist reported.