Dutch DRI to build 127.5 MW wind farm in Croatia

The Brda Umovi wind farm will have a nominal capacity of 127.5 MW and construction is expected to start in the summer of 2025, while electricity export is expected to start in the autumn of 2026, subject to permits, it said in a press release on Friday.

The project is expected to yield 338 GWh per year, which is enough energy to supply about 83,000 households and avoid the release of 51,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Along with the wind farm to be erected near Split, DRI also plans to build a SS 400/110 KV substation, the first one to be built in Croatia in the last 20 years and dedicated exclusively to the connection of renewable energy projects to the grid.

"The substation, which will connect 300 MW – with the possibility of expanding an additional 600 MW – will significantly improve grid connections in the Split Dalmatia region. Construction of the substation is scheduled to start in summer 2025," it added.

DRI is interested in working with traders and off-takers to develop long-term agreements for the sale of electricity (off-take agreements, PPAs) as well as with the state, subject to the contract for difference scheme will be implemented in Croatia.

These projects will also contribute to Croatia’s target to reach a 36.4% share of renewable energy by 2030, as well as DRI’s wider mission to accelerate the energy transition in Europe, it added.

DRI currently has two projects in operation in Romania - a 53 MW solar farm in Glodeni and a 60 MW wind farm in Ruginoasa, the first wind farm built in Romania in a decade. In addition to the projects in Croatia, a further five projects are under development in solar, wind and battery storage across Italy, Romania, and Poland.