On Thursday, May 25th, the long-awaited second international conference Sunny Days began in Bol on the island of Brač. The two-day conference, organized by the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia, brought together 400 participants, over 60 speakers, and panelists. The conference dedicated to the development of solar energy projects was sponsored by the European Commission, the Government of the Republic of Croatia, SolarPower Europe, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Assets, the Ministry of Agriculture, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Investment Bank. In her opening speech, the managing director of the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia, Maja Pokrovac, emphasized that the three recommendations issued by the European Commission for Croatia mainly relate to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
“Croatia imports about 53 percent of its energy annually, despite having great potential in renewable sources, especially wind and solar energy and geothermal sources. Half of the production comes from hydroelectric power plants, and the share of wind power plants has increased to 14 percent, but the potential of solar energy has not been sufficiently utilized. According to the recommendation of the European Commission, Croatia needs to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels through faster development of renewable sources, particularly by investing in wind, solar, and geothermal energy. Croatia needs to complete the incomplete legislative framework to simplify administrative procedures for issuing permits and installing equipment such as solar panels in multi-family buildings.”
She noted that the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia firmly believe that with the development of 6,000 MW of renewable projects, Croatia can become energy self-sufficient by 2030.
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, stated in her opening speech that now is the right time for new solar goals and ambitions and that investments in solar energy are slowly surpassing investments in oil. “For every dollar invested in fossil energy today, $1.4 is invested in green energy, which was unthinkable until recently. The energy crisis has had its impact, and therefore, we all need to accelerate the transition so that Croatian and other European citizens can benefit from cheap energy. Research has shown that in the past crisis year, citizens who had solar panels installed on their roofs saved €3,800 on electricity bills compared to those who did not have them. The price of energy in the EU is too high, but the European Commission has a plan for fossil fuel liberation. We want to leave this world to our children as it should be, without facing droughts and floods. This is about the democratization of electric energy,” she said.
Prof. Sandra Voća, the Vice Dean for Education and Study Programs at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, emphasized that the Faculty of Agriculture is involved in numerous scientific research projects and that the use of renewable energy sources in agriculture has attracted special attention recently. “Food production must not be neglected, and the development of agrovoltaics power plants must be based on scientific research,” she said.
Katarina Marčić, the Mayor of Bol, highlighted in her welcoming speech that we live in a beautiful sunny Croatia that lags behind in the development of solar energy and is at the bottom of Europe in her opinion. “Sunny Days conference is an excellent opportunity for exchanging experiences, learning from the more successful and better ones. I am confident that many good ideas will emerge through panel discussions that can be applied later.”
Mate Šimundić, the President of the County Assembly of Split-Dalmatia County, took the opportunity to highlight good examples and the contribution of Split-Dalmatia County to the energy transition through spatial planning, the establishment of an energy agency, and the subsidization of rooftop solar installations for households.
Karlo Ressler, a representative in the European Parliament, emphasized in a video address that solar energy is one of the most important topics of today. “By the middle of this century, Europe wants to be climate neutral, and solar energy is recognized as a key component. This energy source is growing the fastest in Europe. This is an important discussion for Croatia, which has great potential for solar energy. We have room for progress, and we need to continue an open and constructive discussion to utilize all the potential of solar energy.”
Ivo Milatić, as the envoy of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, pointed out that Croatia is different today when it comes to renewable energy sources compared to a few years ago.
“A few years ago, we had a chaotic situation with renewable energy sources. That chaos has been sorted out with two laws. Those are the Electricity Market Act and the Renewable Energy Sources and High-Efficiency Cogeneration Act. In a short period of time, we have achieved significant success, and from the beginning of 2021 until today, we have issued 2,454 MW of energy permits, out of which 1,300 MW is solar. By the end of 2024, we need to install 1,500 MW of new renewable energy sources, and we will achieve that,” he stated.
Walburga Hemetsberger then gave a presentation titled “The Path to 2050 is Paved with Solar Energy.” She mentioned that Europe installed approximately 41 GW of solar power last year, which is equivalent to building 40 nuclear power plants. Although reaching 1 GW of solar installations is not easy, last year, even 10 European countries crossed that threshold. SolarPower Europe predicts that Croatia will exceed the 1 GW mark by 2026. She pointed out that solar installations in Croatia saw significant growth last year compared to previous periods.
During a panel discussion on the role of public policies in the strong development of solar projects, Tonči Glavinić, an advisor to the Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction, and State Assets, confirmed that the new proposal of the Spatial Planning Act introduces a much simpler procedure for issuing permits for solar power plants, which could certainly stimulate their stronger growth. “This law brings numerous changes. One of them is that the Republic of Croatia, with the new provisions of the law, can gain the status of member countries that have a secure factor of energy independence. Many investors face difficulties in interpreting spatial plans, and planned digitization is a trend to harmonize spatial plans.”
Mladen Pavić, State Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, commented on the synergy between agriculture and renewable energy sources. “Farmers don’t easily accept changes. It was the same with all innovations, including renewable energy sources. We started in the middle of 2016 with the first calls for renewable energy sources, where about twenty farmers applied. Today, in the fourth round of applications, around 400 farmers applied, and 366 have installed solar power plants. The integration is progressing slowly, but it is progressing,” he said.
Ivica Jujnović, Head of the Financing and Project Support Service for Road Infrastructure in the Ministry of the Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure, commented on the development of renewable energy sources and gave an interesting example from the Netherlands. “By placing solar panels only on the noise protection walls along roads, we can supply electricity to 250,000 households. In Croatia, we have 1,400 kilometers of highways with significant protective corridor surfaces, as well as 2,600 kilometers of railway tracks, and we have about 100 kilometers of noise protection walls, so you can imagine the area that opens up opportunities for solar development. Regarding our ministry, there is no obstacle for those surfaces to start being utilized.”
Ivo Milatić confirmed that there is also the possibility of using floating solar panels on our fishponds. “If solar power plants were installed on just 20% of the surface area of our fishponds, we would quickly reach 1 GW of installed solar capacity.”
Walburga Hemetsberger confirmed that the combination of agriculture and solar energy has long been recognized in Europe, with many countries promoting the development of floating and agro-solar power plants. She praised the debate, stating that the potential for solar energy development in Croatia is truly abundant.
