Croatian energy company HEP Group announced last Monday (6 November) that its electric utility subsidiary HEP Proizvodnja has concluded an 11.1 million-euro contract for the design and construction of a solar farm in Dugopolje, southern Croatia with Croatian electric utility company KONČAR – Inženjering.
The planned installed capacity of the Dugopolje solar farm is 13.54 megawatts (MW), with a connected capacity of 10 MW. It is expected to generate 17.2 million kilowatt hours annually, which could meet the power demand of around 6,000 households, HEP said in a press release.
“SPP Dugopolje is going to be the twelfth and so far the biggest solar power plant in our portfolio. With this contract we achieve continuous cooperation with Končar in the field of solar power plant construction, starting from SPP Vis, along which a battery tank was installed, over SPP Donja Dubrava, which has been in regular operation since this May, to SPP Črnkovci in Slavonija, the construction of which is ongoing,” said Frane Barbarić, the President of HEP’s Management Board. “SPP Dugopolje is a good example of cooperation between national companies with the purpose of strengthening the overall Croatian economy. We are glad that Croatian know-how and technologies show competitiveness at the current energy market, where HEP continuously has significant investments.”
“In less than five years we put into operation generation facilities with the total power of 90 MW. The important project of EL-TO Zagreb CCPP construction is close to completion, and currently there are additional nine projects with the total capacity of 120 MW either being constructed or in the construction tender phase,” Mr Barbarić added.
On the surface of around 200,000 m2 in the municipality of Dugopolje, 24,624 bifacial photovoltaic modules will be installed and connected to 52 three-phase converters. The deadline for the completion of works is 18 months following the signing of the contract, HEP said in the press release.
“Our focus on green transition has existed even before green transition has become the focus of Europe. This is primarily reflected in numerous projects of constructing and revitalizing hydro power plants around the world. Furthermore, as early as in 2012 KONČAR made a technological breakthrough by developing wind turbines and constructing its own wind power plant, with the total installed capacity of 20 MW. From the first solar power plant, the biggest on the island of Vis at that time, which became operational in 2020, until now, we constructed four solar power plants for different partners, with the total installed capacity of 30 MW. Currently we are constructing the fifth solar power plant in Slavonija, and today’s contract additionally confirmed our role of a leading regional company in the area of constructing and revitalising facilities for electricity generation from renewable sources,” said Gordan Kolak, M.Sc., the President of KONČAR’s Management Board.
The contract for the Dugopolje solar farm’s design and construction was signed in the Krka National Park, in the “Jaruga” hydropower plant. On 1 December this year, the Jaruga plant will mark 120 years of its operation, which puts it among the oldest operational power plants in the world.
