May the 19th, 2025 – HEP is pouring staggering sums into its projects, with green projects totalling an enormous 1.7 billion euros in various stages of development.
As Sinisa Malus/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, due to begin operating in 2026, the Korlat solar power plant will be the largest solar power plant in all of Croatia. The annual production of the Korlat Energy Park itself will be enough to supply 100,000 households.
The value of the HEP investment in these green projects amounts to approximately 70 million euros, the installed capacity of the power plant will be 99 megawatts, and the connected power will be 75 megawatts. The expected annual production of 165 million kilowatt hours of electricity should be enough to supply around 50,000 households, while the total production of the future Korlat hybrid energy park will be able to meet the electricity needs of as many as 100,000 households.
According to HEP, the Korlat solar power plant is being constructed next to their existing wind farm near Benkovac. That has been in operation since 2021 and it will eventually form a renewable hybrid energy park. After the construction site was registered back in November last year, preparatory work began in December. The actual installation of the structure’s supports for the installation of 160,000 photovoltaic modules (panels) began at the end of April. The modules will be mounted on a structure with a single-axis sun tracking system, which will contribute to increasing the efficiency of the power plant, according to HEP.
This HEP project includes the construction of a solar power plant on an area spanning close to 150 hectares, infrastructure for connection to the 110 kilovolt transmission network, and an auxiliary facility for storage and management of the energy park. The procedure for selecting a construction contractor and two-year maintenance was carried out according to the rules of the EBRD. Together with the EIB, the EBRD is financing the construction of the power plant in the total amount of 62 million euros.
The loans are, by decision of the government, secured by a state guarantee in the amount of up to 80 percent. Plans for the ongoing development of the site include the installation of a battery storage tank with a power of up to 30 megawatts and a capacity of 90 megawatt hours. An additional solar power plant of 40 megawatts is also part of those plans.
HEP has its hands full with expensive green projects. As part of the wider green transition, they have projects under construction and planned with a total capacity of more than 1,500 megawatts. It all carries a total estimated investment value of almost 1.7 billion euros.
These are HEP green projects involving hydroelectric power plants, reversible hydroelectric power plants, wind power plants, solar power plants and battery storage. HEP is implementing and preparing all of the aforementioned with the aim of strengthening Croatia’s overall energy independence and carbon neutrality, in line with EU goals.
“In Zadar County, we’re considering the possibility of building renewable energy sources with a total capacity of more than 500 megawatts and an estimated investment value of around 420 million euros. The construction of renewable sources and strengthening the network are the focus of our investment plans, which this year alone amount to over 830 million euros,” they revealed from HEP.
