Neoen in numbers/2020:
• New plants of 308 power capacity put into operation
• Initiated construction of 605 MW power capacity
• Additional 409 MW secured at national auctions
• Secured portfolio in September amounted to 4.5 GW (at the beginning of the year 4.1 GW)
Neoen, one of the leading and fastest-growing independent producers of electricity exclusively from renewable energy sources (RES) in the world is a new member of the Association of Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia (OIEH).
The French company Neon is engaged in a variety of technologies – solar energy, wind energy – and has perfected its expertise in the storing of energy in order to overcome the changeable RES production and contribute to their development. With capacities that reach 4.5 GW, it bears the title of a fast-growing company, which is particularly active in Argentina, El Salvador, Finland, France, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, Mozambique, Portugal, Zambia, and Australia, where together with Tesla they have recently announced the construction of one of the largest batteries in the world (300MW/450MWH). Since the middle of this year, it has been present in Croatia too, through the company Neon Renewables Croatia.
Some of Neoen’s most prominent projects are undoubtedly the solar power plant in Cestas, in France (300MWp) and the first large battery in the world in Hornsdale, Australia (150MW/129MWh). Its goal is, as they point out, to reach 5 GW in operation or construction in the year 2021. In the achievement of that goal a new market – Croatia – will also contribute, Hugo Martinez, the director of the company Neoen Renewables Croatia pointed out that from their perspective Croatia is a large importer of electric power and at the same time an EU member, which were the two main microeconomic reasons behind their decision to become part of the market. “A significant contribution to this decision included the fact that Croatia has a favorable geographic position, substantial sources of renewable energy, and a branched out and well-developed power line network. All this makes Croatia attractive regarding investments in renewable energy sources, which will be of great significance to Croatia in the very near future”, Martinez underlined
He added that they were particularly pleased with the openness of all sides to investments and the finding of solutions for current problems; from the municipalities, counties to the ministries. “We encountered a very informative and open approach to problems. We are proud of our development of good relations with interested parties in states in which we are present. When selecting a specific location we are aware of the fact that we shall become neighbors for at least 25 years to all those surrounding us. Precisely due to this reason, we choose to be good neighbors who participate in the development of the community and support changes for the better. We believe that we will implement excellent projects in Croatia, technologically very advanced, building at the same time a friendly and partnership relationship with all interested parties”, the director of Neoen Renewables Croatia pointed out.
Neoen recognized Croatia’s green potential of which we have been speaking for years in OIEH and we are pleased that it has also expressed interest in the development of innovative projects and ever more needed technologies such as energy-storing containers, Maja Pokrovac, director of OIEH pointed out: “The storage of greater amounts of energy is important so that we can have it at our disposal when we need it most. The need for such storage facilities is ever greater, primarily due to the fast integration of renewable energy sources in the energy system. This will be of particular importance in Croatia in the forthcoming period in which the even stronger breakthrough of RES is planned. In that regard, Neoen brings not only new projects and technologies but also very specific knowledge that will help us in exploiting all the sustainable resources we have”, Pokrovac underlined, wishing a warm welcome to the new member with whom the promotion and development of green potentials in Croatia will additionally strengthen.
The same is expected in Neoen – the continuation of promoting solutions for renewable energy sources in Croatia so that projects can develop with adequate speed on the market. It is necessary, Martinez points out, to ensure that Croatia uses its resources in renewable sources and not to let them remain only a promising and unused potential: “According to the experiences of other EU member countries, all the prerequisites exist for establishing a competitive market that will provide Croatian citizens cheaper energy and the cessation of importing electricity in the amounts we see today. Naturally, all this has to be done in compliance with all the green criteria and full alignment with environmental goals”, he added.
Neoen in the world:
• 1980 MWp (50 solar plants)
• 875 MW (33 wind farms)
• 215 MW/267Mwh (7 energy storage projects)
