After a decade of battling bureaucracy, Norwegians embark on a €18.7 million project in Žakanje

Given that all permits have been obtained, capital secured, and only awaiting HBOR to confirm its previously announced support, construction of a biomass cogeneration power plant and wood pellet production facility will begin in Žakanje in a month, backed by the Norwegian company Croatia REN AS with a gross investment of €18.7 million.

As fairly acknowledged at today’s presentation of this project by the County Prefect of Karlovac County, Damir Jelić, the ten-year preparation for this project and the struggle with administrative-bureaucratic obstacles speaks to our (dis)organization, and it can be said that it is also a story of persistence and patience as a hallmark of the business and life ethics of Norwegians.

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Croatia REN AS is the owner and founder of Croatian companies Maksim Trade Energija d.o.o. and Bio Peleti Energija d.o.o., which are the bearers of the green energy renaissance in Žakanje, and the owners of Croatia REN AS are 80 investors from Norway, along with the project initiator, the company Green Energy Innovation Alliance AS, whose senior project advisor Edin Ališić presented a detailed plan and logistical connection between the power plant and pellet production, as well as their economic sustainability.

I may be the first, says Ališić, who has managed to convince Norwegian investors that Dubrovnik and some Adriatic destinations are not the only worthwhile investments in Croatia. The excellent location of the municipality of Žakanje, the wealth of forest biomass, the infrastructural readiness of the Žakanje Business Zone where we purchased 23,000 square meters of space, the availability of qualified labor, and the support of local authorities were crucial in selecting this location, and in exercising such patience to finally obtain all the documentation for this project, the construction of which will soon begin, said Ališić.

Organic Rankine Cycle

Given that in cogeneration plants of this type, we are talking about the so-called Organic Rankine Cycle, it is important how to utilize the thermal energy that occurs during electricity production, Ališić stated that a key moment was signing a contract with HROTE and obtaining the status of a privileged electricity producer for a period of 14 years, thereby creating the basis for the construction of a power plant with an electrical capacity of 1MW and the production of 24 GWh of thermal energy annually.

With the participation of the Regional Energy Agency of Northwestern Croatia REGEA, the share of Privredna banka Zagreb and HBOR in financial support, incentives from the Croatian Agency for Payments in Agriculture amounting to 7.5 million kuna, Ališić highlighted as a special novelty the signing of contracts with five private forest owners as suppliers of both biomass for the operation of the cogeneration plant Maksim Trade Energija and logs for Bio Peleti Energija for pellet production.

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In the technical-economic part as the basis of the entire project, Ališić stated that the overall energy efficiency of the cogeneration of MTE will be at least 64 percent, and depending on the outside temperature, it could go up to 68 percent, with the possibility of selling part of the thermal energy to nearby local government facilities. In the new facilities, which are expected to start operating in early summer 2019, about 30 workers will find employment.