May 15 (SeeNews) - Croatia's state-owned power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP) said it plans to invest 1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) euro in renewable energy projects under its development strategy by 2030.
The plan envisages the development of some 60 renewable energy projects with a total capacity of more than 1,500 MW, CEO Frane Barbaric said in a press release on Friday.
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As part of this strategy, on May 12 HEP put into operation the 6.9 million euro Obrovac solar power plant with an installed capacity of 8.7 MW. With an annual production of 11.3 million kWh, it will be able to cover the needs of more than 3,500 households. It covers a land plot of 117,137 square metres, at a location of a former alumina factory and is located in the Zadar county, southern Croatia.
It is the seventh solar power plant by HEP, and one of the four solar plants with a total power of 32 MW which HEP will put into operation this year. Soon, HEP plans to open a 9.9 MW solar power plant, Donja Dubrava, in Medjimurje, northern Croatia.
“Without green energy and secure electricity supply, the development of tourism is also impossible,” Barbaric added.
Tourism generates about a fifth of Croatia's gross domestic product.
Most of the renewable energy projects envisaged in the strategy are set in the coastal region. Of these, eleven are planned in Zadar county. They have a total capacity of 660 MW, as the overall investments are estimated at 700 million euro.
Along with investments in renewables, HEP is investing to boost the distribution and transmission network. Also on Friday, HEP presented an investment of 11.4 million euro in the Zadar east 110/10(20) kV transformer station in Bibinje, as well as the reconstruction of the 110 kV Biograda transformer station and replacement of submarine cables. In the last three years, the local unit of HEP in Zadar has been investing some 15 million euro annually to improve its distribution network, and it will keep that amount of annual investment in the future.
Under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, some 230 million euro have been approved to finance Croatia's electricity distribution projects, as most of them are in the coastal region. Some 30 million euro will be invested in 13 stretches of submarine cables with a total length of 116 kilometres to improve electricity links between 11 islands and the mainland.
($ = 0.919 euro)
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