The energy transition in Croatia needs to be accelerated, but it is essential to consider the human resources potential and the administration’s ability to enable faster realization of necessary projects, as heard at the panel “Leaders of a Sustainable Future.” The panel was held as part of the Lider conference “The Energy Future of Croatia”, and the attendees were particularly captivated by the question of the feasibility of realizing ambitious plans to increase electricity production from renewable energy sources. The refreshed National Energy and Climate Plan, which will soon be submitted to the European Commission for approval, envisions that capacities in solar power plants will quadruple to 4000 MW, while wind power plants will have 2000 MW, twice as much as now.
If we add 300 MW from geothermal power plants, it is clear that this will be extremely ambitious, emphasized Dražen Jakšić, director of the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar.
– Achieving this will not be simple – Jakšić stressed, adding that by 2030, we should increase energy production by five TWh annually.
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Regarding the reality of achieving this, Gordan Kolak, CEO of Končar, spoke critically. According to him, the planning approach did not take into account the industry’s capacity.
– I do not understand who will do this, who will pay for it, and ultimately connect these new capacities to the grid – Kolak claims.
From the experience of the company Dalekovod, which is owned by Končar, the development of the conceptual solution for a new power line route takes a certain amount of time. Then, the Croatian Transmission System Operator needs to request spatial changes, followed by obtaining location and then construction permits.
– All of this takes at least three years. After that, construction needs to be contracted, which takes another year and a half – Kolak emphasized.
– In other words, before 2028, not a single kilometer of new power line network will be built in Croatia – says the head of Končar. He also raised the question of whether the administration is capable of quickly absorbing such a procedure.
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There is also the question of financing. Money from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan will run out in 2026. As long as the price of electricity is determined administratively, rather than on the market, no one will have an interest in investing in the grid, Kolak believes. The European Union has recently begun a reform of the electricity market that should bring certain changes in this regard. Kristian Stipanović, a representative of E.ON Croatia, explained that the reform has three key points. The first is the security of supply for consumers, the second is security for investors, and the third is the flexibilization of the market through dynamic tariffs. This also gives consumers the opportunity to react, Stipanović emphasized.
