Končar Group Builds a Portfolio of 700 MW of Renewable Energy Sources

In addition to its core business of manufacturing equipment and providing solutions for energy, transport, and industry, the Končar Group is increasingly turning to renewable energy sources (RES). The latest project of Končar – renewable sources is a smaller solar power plant Otočac, with a total capacity of 7.5 megawatts (MW), for which an environmental protection report was prepared and published last month. However, as confirmed by Končar, the entire Končar portfolio of RES projects amounts to about 700 MW of total installed capacity, of which some are operational, some under construction, and most in earlier development phases.

From Končar’s strategic documents – People, Technology, Investment Strategy – Končar 2030 and Sustainability Strategy 2024 – 2026 – it follows that by the end of this year, the Končar Group aims to secure 35 percent of its total energy consumption from renewable sources and 100 percent of its electricity consumption. Of course, part of that energy is procured on the market, from energy producers of renewable sources or on CROPEX with appropriate guarantees of origin. However, part of it will also come from its own sources.

– Of that, 15 percent of electricity would be produced from its own sources. In 2025, 28 percent of total energy consumption will be covered by renewable sources, while electricity from RES will account for a high 93 percent. Own photovoltaic power plants covered about 10 percent of the Group’s electricity consumption, with a constant growth trend – stated Darijo Runjić, Executive Director of the Electricity Production Business Area at Končar, for Lider.

Completed and Under Construction Projects: HE Otočac, Cres, and Čakovec

In response to Lider’s inquiry, Končar specified that it develops and builds RES projects independently and in collaboration with partners, depending on the strategic and technological value of each investment. They highlighted that in collaboration with partners, they completed the small hydroelectric power plant Otočac with a capacity of 1.5 MW, while they are currently constructing solar power plants Cres (6 MW) and Čakovec (8.5 MW).

Regarding its own development portfolio, they singled out the solar power plants Plavnice 1 and 2 in Bjelovar, with a total capacity of about 18.5 MW along with approximately 50 MWh of battery systems, and a project in Belom Manastiru (10 MW and 30 MWh of battery systems).

– A special place is held by the project of expanding and increasing the capacity of our wind farm Pometeno brdo, which is transforming into an energy park with up to 50 MW of wind, up to 50 MW of solar power, and corresponding battery storage.

Furthermore, we are in the early stages of developing a portfolio on state lands that includes about 250 MW of wind farms, over 300 MW of solar power plants, and a green hydrogen production project with a capacity of 5 MW – listed Runjić.

Rust, Gospić, Cernik, Biljane Gornje, Phosphogypsum Landfill, Raduč

Among other things, as can be verified on Končar’s website, it concerns the wind farm Rust near Sinj (120 MW) and solar power plants Gospić (69 MW), Cernik (38 MW), Biljane Gornje (95 MW), Phosphogypsum Landfill (94 MW), and Raduč (50 MW). In Končar’s portfolio, there are also integrated photovoltaic power plants on the roofs of their halls: 1.1 MW in Končar – Distribution and Special Transformers, 450 kW in Končar – Generators and Motors, and 350 kW in Končar – Motors and Electrical Systems.

80 Percent of Revenue from the RES Segment Comes from Third-Party Projects

Revenue from the RES segment does not come solely from the realization of its own projects. According to Runjić, only 20 percent of revenue in the RES segment comes from them, while the rest comes from the realization of projects for third parties both domestically and abroad. For example, these include solar power plants Donja Dubrava (HEP) and Virje (INA) in Croatia, and in Slovenia, the hydroelectric power plant Brežice.

The problems in developing this type of projects in Croatia are standard as for other investors: lengthy spatial planning processes, environmental procedures, energy permit issuance processes on state lands, and years of non-existence of regulations for connection fees.

There are also difficulties in issuing valid energy permits and contracts for connection to the transmission network. Runjić is convinced that the announced regulatory changes will enable the acceleration of projects, which would be a good wind in the sails not only for investors in projects but also for Croatia’s energy transition.