Zagreb to receive a new KKE EL-TO block by 2021

The new block of the cogeneration plant for the production of electricity and thermal energy at the location of the Zagreb Power Plant and Heating Plant, which will be financed by loans amounting to 130 million euros, is expected to be completed by 2021, and it represents the largest investment by Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP) in the last ten years, it was stated on Tuesday at the signing of the loan agreement and the agreement for the construction and maintenance of the block.

The loan agreements were signed by representatives of HEP, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), while representatives of HEP and the Italian company FATA signed the agreement for the construction and maintenance of the new block.

The new combined heat and power block will be financed by loans totaling 130 million euros, of which the EBRD and a syndicate of commercial banks are providing 87 million euros, and the EIB 43 million euros. The EIB loan will be guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe (the so-called Juncker Plan).

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As stated by HEP’s CEO Frane Barbarić on this occasion, the new high-efficiency block of the Zagreb Power Plant and Heating Plant (EL-TO Zagreb), with a capacity of 150 megawatts of electricity (MWe) and 114 megawatts (MWt) of thermal energy, will comply with environmental protection requirements and will also be a reliable support for supplying Zagreb with thermal energy and a source of electricity for the Croatian electricity system.

“The residents of Zagreb will benefit from the new system. The project will be top-notch in every sense, environmentally friendly thanks to state-of-the-art systems and environmental protection measures, reliable for supplying thermal energy to consumers in the city of Zagreb, and as a source of electricity for the Croatian electricity system. Furthermore, the system will be highly efficient and energy-efficient, as it will have a fuel utilization of 90 percent in the simultaneous production of electricity and thermal energy,” said Barbarić, adding that the existing units are outdated and environmentally unacceptable.

The block will have significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions, which, Barbarić said, will contribute to the quality of life for Zagreb residents.

“The new block will use low-emission gas and will produce electricity for the needs of the electricity grid and thermal energy for the needs of the central heating system in the northwestern part of Zagreb, replacing outdated blocks that mainly produce only thermal energy and operate on gas and heating oil. This is a key part of the energy infrastructure of the city of Zagreb,” concluded the head of HEP.

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Currently, around 80,000 households in the western part of the city are connected to the Zagreb Power Plant and Heating Plant system.

Vedrana Jelušić Kašić, regional director of the EBRD for Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Slovakia, also emphasized that this is a key investment for Zagreb and its residents.

“The EBRD has achieved great progress towards green energy, and this is another important step in that direction,” Jelušić Kašić emphasized. She noted that the new block will emit 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually less than the current one. She also stated that the financing conditions were exceptionally good and were achieved on the international financial market.