In order to highlight the stagnation of investments in green energy production and propose concrete solutions, The Renewable Energy Association of the Croatian Chamber of Economy today presented a document Position Paper analyzing the current state and offering solutions to the biggest issues, namely administrative barriers in the renewable energy sector.
As noted in the introduction by Marija Šćulac Domac, Director of the Sector for Industry and Sustainable Development of HGK, the RES sector has been facing procedural issues and regulatory inconsistencies since 2016, as the adoption of a regulation governing the implementation of RES projects on state land has been awaited since then. The situation has further slowed down, and in some cases, come to a halt since 2021 when the Renewable Energy Act was adopted, but not all acts prescribed have been implemented, without which no RES project can be realized.
Specifically, the adoption of subordinate legislation is delayed by more than 430 days, and as highlighted at the conference, despite announcements from the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development Ivo Milatić in January that they would be adopted in the first quarter of this year, these implementing regulations have not even been made available for public consultation.
Additionally, tenders for energy approval according to the transitional provisions of the Electricity Market Act are being issued slowly. In one year and two months, only 17.6 percent of requests have been resolved. The problematic fact is that even after obtaining energy approval, these projects cannot continue development due to the lack of subordinate acts related to connection to the electricity grid, specifically the Rules on Connection to the Grid and Connection Fees, it was stated at the conference.
– There have been good faith attempts from all sides to resolve the situation, and this is our contribution and a call to everyone to put this sector on solid ground as soon as possible and to define a healthy state framework so that citizens and the state receive what they deserve because we have the potential and resources for that. We hope that it will be a starting point for addressing a whole range of problems and that it will encourage all stakeholders to comprehensively and systematically regulate this area, said Šćulac Domac, concluding that citizens and employers do not deserve political maneuvering but concrete measures.
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She also noted that last week they sent a letter to ministers Oleg Butković, Davor Filipović and Branko Bačić, to form a working group in the Government that would bring concrete tasks and conclusions, which is the ultimate goal of the RES Association of HGK.
The Position Paper document, summarizing five key problems that hinder new RES projects in Croatia, was presented by Aljoša Pleić, Deputy President of the RES Association of HGK. These five areas are the legislative framework, connection to the electricity grid, spatial planning, environmental and nature impact, and regulatory compliance. As the biggest problem, both Šćulac Domac and Pleić cited regulatory inconsistency.
