Slovenia’s oil distributing company Petrol Group officially launched its second wind farm, the Ljubač wind farm near Knin in Croatia, which provides green energy for 30,000 average households with 9 wind turbines that will annually generate around 96 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity.
By building its own production capacities for electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES), the Petrol Group is pursuing its strategic orientation of becoming a visible regional provider of comprehensive energy and environmental solutions and a partner in the development of the circular economy for transition to the low-carbon society.
The Petrol Group sees great potential in wind energy and is planning, building and managing wind farms in locations where it is possible to exploit the wind potential in an economically efficient and environmentally friendly way. The official commissioning of the Ljubač wind power plant represents an important milestone in the production of electricity from RES by the Petrol Group, which aims to become an integrated partner in the energy transition, also in Croatia. The Group also continues its efforts towards a sustainable energy transition in the country with an investment in three large solar power plants in the Knin area. The solar power plants, with a total investment value estimated at 17 million euros will start producing electricity in early 2023.
“Today’s event is a reminder of the current energy price hikes and the uncertain situation in the energy markets, which have been loudly reminding us of the need for action over the past year,” commented Nada Drobne Popović, President of the Management Board of Petrol during the opening ceremony. “We are already doing this in the Petrol Group: investments in the production of electricity from renewable energy sources are a tangible contribution of the Petrol Group to solving the current energy crisis and, at the same time, to the long-term strengthening of self-sufficiency and the energy transition of households, the economy and the country.”
“Petrol is one of the largest energy companies in the region and one of the first to actively engage in the energy transition to a low-carbon society,” he added. “The production of electricity from renewable sources is one of the key activities for the future development of the Petrol Group into a modern sustainable energy company. Most of our investments in renewable energy to date have been focused on the Croatian market, which is of strategic importance for the Petrol Group.”
Petrol is implementing most of its projects in the field of energy generation from renewable energy sources in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, which boast significant wind, sun and water potential. At the end of 2021, the Petrol Group had a total installed capacity for renewable electricity generation of 68.9 megawatts (MW). By 2025, the Petrol Group aims to exceed an installed capacity of 160 MW by developing and implementing projects for the generation of electricity from RES, both for its own needs as well as for selling electricity. The commitment to the green energy transition means that the Petrol Group will allocate 35 per cent of its total investment potential of 698 million euros in the strategic period 2021–2025 to investments in the energy transition, the largest part of which will be for investments in renewable energy generation.
