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- By early December, 167 requests for energy approval will arrive at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development
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Approximately 5.5 GW of renewable energy projects could request an energy approval from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development within two months, a key document that serves as a sort of ticket for the development of renewable energy sources in Croatia.
Namely, this is the number of projects that have requested a preliminary opinion on the possibility of connection to the grid (EMP) from HOPS and HEP ODS in the past month, and obtaining this document, an administrative procedure that lasts 90 days, is one of the essential prerequisites for energy approval.
By requesting the EMP, investors have thus initiated the procedure for developing renewable energy projects according to the new Electricity Market Act adopted in 2021, which had been stalled for almost two years. Due to delays in the subordinate legislation that was only adopted this summer, this administrative procedure could not be initiated before September 1, 2023.
According to data we received from HEP ODS, by September 21, 114 requests for data submission for the preparation of connection feasibility studies with a capacity of 610 MW had arrived, while HOPS received 53 requests with a total capacity of 4,840 MW.
If HOPS had not set the condition at the last minute that the land on which the project is being developed must be included in the spatial plan, there would likely be even more renewable energy projects requesting the EMP. However, many investors still need to include their planned projects in spatial plans, so they will start the EMP and the procedure for obtaining energy approvals somewhat later.
After obtaining the EMP and energy approval, a procedure that together lasts almost a year, investors in renewable energy should request connection to the grid and sign a contract with HOPS or HEP ODS. However, how much such a contract should cost remains unknown to investors, as HERA has not yet established the unit price for connection, although at the Leaders’ conference held in June, Željko Vrban, Deputy President of HERA, announced that this would happen in September.
The absence of connection prices poses a significantly greater problem for projects that have obtained energy approval under the transitional provisions of the Electricity Market Act, as without this information they cannot sign a connection agreement and proceed with project development, and they are forced to wait while simultaneously facing a five-year deadline in which they must legally construct the energy facility.
