Energy in Croatia

Energy production in Croatia

Total installed capacity of generating objects built in Croatia amounts to 3,557 MW, 2,166 MW of which is hydropower and renewable sources share and 1,391 MW comes from thermal and nuclear power plants.[2]

In 2020, domestic production amounted to 12,510 GWh, which was 67% of total domestic demand. Remaining 33% was covered through trade. Total consumption equaled 18,660 GWh, a 10% decrease from 2019.[2]

Croatia has 28 hydropower plants of which 2 are reversible, 2 small size and 1 pumped storage. They are distributed in three production areas: North, West and South with one independent plant, and are HEP's most important source of renewable energy.[3]

There are 7 thermal power plants of which 4 are also heating plants and one is combined cycle power plant.[4]

Two biopower plants are now located in Croatia and both are also used for heating purposes.[5]

Croatia has no nuclear power plants on its territory, but co-owns the Krško Nuclear Power Plant together with Slovenia. The Krško plant was built in the era of Yugoslavia on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Planned decommissioning is by 2043.[6]

Croatian transmission grid consists of lines on three different rated voltage levels, namely 400, 220 and 110 kV. Total length of high-voltage lines is 7,795 km (4,843.59 mi) while length of medium and low voltage lines is 140,969 km (87,594.08 mi).[2]

The grid was often the target of attacks during Croatian War of Independence, resulting in frequent black-outs during the period. Since then, the grid has been repaired, and reconnected to synchronous grid of Continental Europe synchronous zones 1 and 2, making it an important transit system again.[7]

Under the 2004 Energy law, customers in Croatia are allowed to choose their preferred distributor of electricity. However, HEP Operator distribucijskog sustava or HEP-ODS (a Hrvatska elektroprivreda subsidiary) remains the largest distributor to both industry and households. Its distribution grid is 141,568.6 km (87,966.65 mi) long, with 26 736 transformers installed, totaling 23,172 MVA of power.[8]

In 2020 there were 2,133,525 customers, 95.9% of which were households.[2]

With the implementation of the project HE Senj 2, HEP intends to use the remaining hydro potential in the Lika and Gacka basins by upgrading the existing hydropower system. The project involves the construction of a large reservoir and additional capacity in order to transfer production to the top of the daily chart. This will enable the capacity to inject high regulatory power into the power system with flexible hydro units ready for rapid power change. The construction of the hydroelectric power plant will cost 3.4 billion kuna and will have an installed capacity of 412 MW, while the construction deadline is 2028.[9]

In December 2019, the project of building a new high-efficiency combi-cogeneration unit KKE EL-TO Zagreb began, electric power 150 MW. The construction lasts for three years, and this project will replace part of the dilapidated and obsolete units at the EL-TO Zagreb location.[10]

In 1978, the Adriatic island of Vir was selected as a location for a future nuclear power plant, but these plans were abandoned.[11]

According to reports, since 2009 Croatia has been discussing the option of building a nuclear power plant with Albania, in a location on the shore of Shkodër Lake, on the border with Albania and Montenegro. In April 2009 the Croatian government denied that any agreement had been signed.[12]

In a 2012 poll among 447 Croatian citizens, who were asked "Do you think it is justified to use nuclear energy for the production of electricity?", 42% answered "yes" and 44% answered "no".[13]

In 2021 the Slovenian government has issued an energy permit to GEN Energija for the planning and construction of the second unit of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant,followed by a statement by the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Croatia Tomislav Ćorić that Croatia "will not look benevolently at the construction of the new bloc".[14] In March 2022, Plenković confirmed Croatia's readiness to enter the project of building the second block of the Krško NPP.[15]

As of 2021, Croatia had 100 MW of solar power, providing 0.4% of electricity. The potential for solar energy in Croatia is estimated at 6.8 GW, of which 5.3 GW would be accounted for by utility-scale photovoltaic plants and 1.5 GW by rooftop solar systems.[16] Croatia plans to install 1.5 GW of solar capacity by 2024.[17]