April the 22nd, 2023 - Could the Republic of Croatia be powered entirely by renewable resources/energy by the year 2030? Some experts truly believe that this could be the case.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, by the year 2030, Croatia could get almost all of its energy from renewable sources, according to an analysis presented by the Croatian Renewable Energy Sources Association (OIEH). The investments required to reach these energy goals stand at around one billion euros annually.

Of this huge sum, 500 million euros would be needed for the construction of solar and wind power plants, 300 million for the rehabilitation, modernisation, reconstruction, replacement and digitisation of the country's transmission and distribution network elements, and 200 million for storage technologies.

The above analysis is based on detailed modeling of the evolution of electricity production and consumption and on numerous simulations of the operation of the Croatian power system in different time frames. It also suggests ways to accelerate the transformation of the power system to strengthen resistance to various crises.

According to the OIEH, which is headed by director Maja Pokrovac, based on current consumption and its growth trend, as well as the currently required import of electricity, the analysis shows a possible future energy picture for Croatia in 2030 with 100 percent renewable energy.

"The annual electricity consumption of 21 to 23 TWh per year would be met by the production of electricity mainly from solar and wind power plants in the country. In January 2030, according to this scenario, Croatia would have 2,500 MW of wind farms that produce 6 TWh of electricity per year. It would also have 2,500 MW of solar power plants that produce 3 TWh of electricity annually. We'd also develop 400 MW in the form of other projects of renewable energy sources such as biomass, biogas and geothermal power plants, which would produce 2 TWh of electricity per year," according to the OIEH. They add that in the year 2030, with the average production of hydroelectric power plants of 6344 GWh, other renewable energy sources would produce around 17 TWh, or primary energy of 42 TWh.

This is equal to the production of electricity from 4.2 million tonnes of natural gas or 3.1 million tonnes of liquefied gas, 3.6 million tonnes of oil, or 5.9 million tonnes of hard coal, which represents about 42% of the nation's current primary energy consumption. The completion of the construction of the Senj2/Kosinj hydropower system with a capacity of 412 MW is also expected by 2029, with an increase in the annual production of the Senj hydropower system by about 220 GWh.

By building new wind and solar power plants with variable production, it will be necessary to build new flexibility resources for balancing system services on the production side and consumption side by 2030. These are new reversible hydropower plants with a capacity of +600/-600 MW, annual consumption of around 2.5 TWh and production of non-renewable 1,875 TWh of electricity.

New batteries will also be needed for storage services and balancing system services. The country will also need stable and flexible electrolysers for the production of hydrogen, which would store surpluses in the system during large-scale production of hydroelectric power plants, wind power plants, and solar power plants. Of course, as the association states, an essential condition for this kind of energy picture in the year 2030 is the development of the transmission and distribution network. Special mention should be made of the development of a new double transmission line of 400 kV, transmission capacity of about 2500 MW, between Dalmatia and northwestern Croatia.

With all of the above, it would be the best scenario of the electric power development strategy in the medium term, which is based on 100% RES, and which requires large investments, but gives low operating costs (electricity prices) in terms of operation.

According to this analysis, in 2030, by categories of available energy, renewable energy sources participate with 68.7%, non-renewable with 20.2% and the Krsko nuclear power plant (which has a Croatian share of 50%) with 11%. The exchange balance is zero, that is, the electricity balance would be completely balanced. According to this scenario, Croatia would not need imports at all.

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January 17, 2023 - The Krsko nuclear power plant, co-owned by Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP) and Slovenia's GEN Energija, can keep operating for another 20 years until the end of 2043.

As Jutarnji List/Index write, the decision was made by the Slovenian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Spatial Planning, which issued an environmental permit for the extension of the Krsko nuclear plant's operation.

HEP points out that this decision "has strategic importance, both for the Croatian Electric Industry, as a 50 percent co-owner of NEK, and for the entire Croatian energy sector, from an economic, energy and environmental aspect, especially in the circumstances of the current energy crisis."

The Krsko nuclear power plant, which was put into operation in 1983, produces an average of 5.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, divided equally between Croatia and Slovenia. This means that the Krsko plant annually covers about 20 percent of Slovenia's needs and about 16 percent of Croatia's needs for electricity.

A long and complex procedure

HEP points out that in 2022, the Croatian share of production from the Krsko plant amounted to 2.65 TWh, which accounted for 14.42 percent of the total available electricity in Croatia. This year, the Krsko plant is expected to produce more than six billion kWh of electricity.

The process of obtaining environmental consent was long and highly complex. Several scientific institutions from Croatia and Slovenia participated in the preparation of documentation, analysis, and expert evaluations, as well as the preparation of the environmental impact assessment, and a cross-border environmental impact assessment was also carried out with the neighboring countries of Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Austria and, additionally, Germany.

According to the available information, in addition to the environmental consent, the condition for extending the operation of the Krsko nuclear power plant was the successful completion of the modernization and increase of the safety of the power plant, which was fulfilled by the conclusion of the Nuclear Safety Modernization Program.

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ZAGREB, July 14, 2020 - The Croatian-Slovenian commission overseeing an agreement between the two countries on the regulation of relations concerning the jointly owned Krsko nuclear power plant met in Zagreb on Tuesday and approved the third revision of decommissioning and radioactive waste disposal programmes.

The commission, meeting for the 14th time, discussed the work of the plant and the funds raised for decommissioning and waste disposal, the Croatian Environment and Energy Ministry said in a press release.

Croatian Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric and Slovenian Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said they were pleased with the final approval of the programme revision.

"I thank the Slovenian side for the good cooperation," said Coric.

"The programmes approved a key for maintaining (the plant's) excellent and safe work," said Vrtovec, thanking Croatia "for the achievements."

The commission's 15th meeting is planned for the first half of next year in Slovenia.

The Krsko plant, located in Slovenia, is to stop working in 2043. In 2018, Croatia adopted a national radioactive waste disposal programme which defined the former military complex Cerkezovac in the Dvor municipality as the location for a waste disposal centre.

ZAGREB, April 1, 2020 - The fund for financing the decommissioning of Krško Nuclear Power Plant and the disposal of its radioactive waste stated on Tuesday that it had received the approval from the Energy and Environment Ministry for the use of former Čerkezovac barracks for establishment of a Radioactive Waste Disposal Centre.

The former Čerkezovac barracks are at Trgovska Gora in the municipality of Dvor on the left bank of the River Una.

The Zagreb-based Fund says in its press release that during the implementation of the project it would permanently cooperate with the local community and the general public as well as with stakeholders across the border, that is nearby municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina municipalities that are located on the border with Croatia and gravitate towards the River Una fear that radioactive waste from Trgovska Gora would pollute the environment on both sides of the border and harm the health of local residents.

Establishing the centre, Croatia will manage the radioactive waste in a safe, systematic and tested way, said the fund.

The Krško nuclear power plant is jointly owned by Croatia and Slovenia and is located in the Slovenian town of Krško.

Croatia's national programme for the implementation of a strategy for the management of radioactive waste has been submitted to the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), which is expected to evaluate it, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is seeking guarantees that the programme will not have a negative impact on the country.

More energy news can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, October 1, 2019 - The Slovenian-Croatian commission on the Krško nuclear power plant failed at a meeting in Bled on Monday to reach a consensus on building a joint radioactive waste storage facility in Vrbina near Krško, Slovenia, and Croatia continues activities aimed at building its own facility.

The meeting discussed the successful operation of the co-owned power plant and possibilities for storing medium- and low-level radioactive waste from Krško, but a consensus on a joint storage facility in Vrbina has not been reached for now, Croatian Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić and Slovenian Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek said at a joint press conference.

The meeting was presented with the third review of the Programme for degradation and the Programme for disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The documents will be forwarded to the Slovenian government and the Croatian parliament for consideration, after which they should be confirmed by the joint commission at a meeting planned for December or January.

Slovenia plans to build a radioactive waste storage facility in Vrbina near Krško and proposes that Croatia stores its share of waste from the Krško plant there. "Currently there is no consensus on a joint solution, but we remain open to talks with Croatia in accordance with the agreement between the two countries," Bratušek said.

Ćorić said that the Slovenian proposal was problematic to Croatia for several reasons, one being that in Vrbina it would be possible to store only radioactive waste from the Krško plant.

This is not a long-term solution for Croatia because it has institutional waste at a number of locations. If Croatia agrees to a joint storage facility in Vrbina, it will have to build a facility to store medical and other radioactive waste in its own territory, which would not make sense, Ćorić said. "We want a final solution to cover all types of waste," the Croatian minister said.

Ćorić said that Croatia was ready for an alternative scenario, citing the Čerkezovac site on Mount Trgovska Gora at Dvor, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but added that it should be seen how talks with Slovenia would proceed. "Regardless of that, our preparations for Čerkezovac continue," he added.

Responding to questions from the press, Ćorić said that Croatia was aware of protests from Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Una-Sana Canton, and stressed that the matter would be discussed with Bosnia and Herzegovina during the preparation of an environmental impact study.

Asked why other types of Croatian medium- and low-level radioactive waste could not be stored in the planned facility in Vrbina, which might be acceptable to Croatia as a long-term solution, Bratušek said that under the existing agreement only radioactive waste from the nuclear power plant itself could be stored within its grounds. She added that the matter should be resolved by 2025, after which it would not be allowed for Croatian nuclear waste to be stored within the power plant complex.

During the meeting, a small group of Bosnian environmental activists protested outside the Bled hotel saying that the Čerkezovac site was unacceptable because of the soil composition and because of local population on both sides of the border.

More news about Krško nuclear plant can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, July 29, 2019 - Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Monday that it had not been decided yet on whether a nuclear waste storage facility would be built on Mount Trgovska Gora near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and if such a decision were made, the neighbouring country would be able to raise its concerns.

Ćorić made the statement after being asked by the press in Zagreb whether a decision had been made to store medium and low radioactive waste from the Krško nuclear power plant at Trgovska Gora and whether in that case Croatia should consult with the Bosnian authorities.

The Krško plant is located in Slovenia and is co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia.

"As for Trgovska Gora, Croatia is considering that site, and as for opinions and signals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is fully justified for any country to think about what is happening in its neighbourhood and I don't see any problem with that," the minister said.

He pointed out that disposal sites like that that existed across Europe were made according to the highest standards and posed no threat.

Ćorić said that if Croatia decided to dispose of its radioactive waste in the Trgovska Gora area it would contact Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighbouring country would be able to raise its concerns then. He said that concerns could not be raised based on hearsay evidence but should be clearly founded, adding that he expected all parties involved to behave responsibly.

Ćorić said that the site of the nuclear waste storage facility would be decided after careful consideration. He added that the Croatia-Slovenia commission on this matter was meeting in September or October.

Asked what would happen if the Bosnian authorities continued to oppose the idea, Ćorić said that sometimes it was impossible to reconcile all views and that there were always those that were discontented. "I'm not prejudging the decision and I can't answer 'what if' questions."

A protest rally was held outside the Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo on Monday against Croatia's plan to build a radioactive waste storage facility near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

More news about the Krško nuclear power plant can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, April 11, 2019 - A protest was held in Dvor near the Bosnian border on Wednesday against plans to build a site for the disposal of nuclear waste from the Krško nuclear power plant at the Trgovska Gora location.

The rally drew hundreds of locals, members of ecology associations and representatives of neighbouring municipalities and towns from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dvor mayor Nikola Arbutina welcomed the citizens' initiative against disposing nuclear waste at Čerkezovac, a former military barracks at Trgovska Gora, saying the municipality had done everything to stop nuclear waste from being disposed there.

He said the protesters should protest in Zagreb because decisions were made there and not in Dvor, whose authorities, he said, had no say in the matter.

"Only the state can decide where the nuclear waste will end up. Only by uniting the right and left banks of the Una river can we do something. If we carry on as we have until now, scoring political points on this problem, then we'll achieve nothing," Arbutina said, adding that today's protest was in the service of elections for ethnic minority councils and European Parliament elections.

Mario Crnković, president of the Green Team association, said the nuclear waste disposal site was a common problem and interest of the Croatian and Bosnian communities along the Una river and that only by uniting could the people oppose the project. "We mustn't trade with Trgovska Gora."

The Una river, which the two border regions share, does not deserve to be polluted with hazardous waste, said Miroslav Drljača, head of the Bosnian municipality of Novi Grad.

Bosnian MP Jasmin Emerić said the nuclear waste would destroy the most beautiful European region.

Dušan Bjelajac, deputy head of the Croatian county of Sisak-Moslavina, also warned about the danger of the disposal site.

Petrinja mayor and Croatian MP Darinko Dumbović said he had spoken about this problem in the Croatian parliament a number of times, "yet many MPs wouldn't listen... because they raised their hands for the Trgovska Gora location." He added that he was referring to the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, the opposition Social Democrats, the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) "and other ethnic minorities."

Dumbović called out SDSS president Milorad Pupovac, saying he had betrayed his people in the Banovina region because of the ruling coalition, of which the SDSS is part. He added that Arbutina was deluding his people.

After one hour, the protesters dispersed peacefully.

More news about the nuclear energy can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, March 22, 2019 - The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday decided to ask Croatian authorities to give up their plan to build a radioactive waste storage site at Trgovska Gora, near Dvor, a town on the River Una on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, announcing that it would internationalise the problem in order to protect the country's interests.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina is asking the Republic of Croatia not to designate Trgovska Gora, a location in the municipality of Dvor, on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the storage of radioactive and nuclear waste and to find on its territory another adequate location for that purpose, which is not near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina," reads a conclusion adopted by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday.

A press release said Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik would send a letter to Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to formally inform her of Bosnia and Herzegovina's request.

The Presidency also entrusted the Foreign Ministry to inform through its diplomatic and consular network EU member states and international organisations specialising in environmental protection of the issue and of Bosnia and Herzegovina's position.

Trgovska Gora, that is, the former Čerkezovac barracks located there, is one of the sites that are being considered as a location for the disposal of radioactive waste from the Krško nuclear power plant, which Croatia owns and operates with Slovenia.

Croatia's national programme for the implementation of a strategy for the management of radioactive waste has been submitted to the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), which is expected to evaluate it, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is seeking guarantees that the programme will not have a negative impact on the country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina municipalities that are located on the border with Croatia and gravitate towards the River Una fear that radioactive waste from Trgovska Gora would pollute the environment on both sides of the border and harm the health of local residents.

More news on the relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, September 19, 2018 - Representatives of the Croatian Institute for Radiology and Nuclear Safety (DZNS) and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) in Vienna on Wednesday signed an agreement regulating cooperation in nuclear safety and the exchange of technical information.

ZAGREB, April 25, 2018 - The Slovenian and Croatian co-owners of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant – Slovenia's GEN Energija and Croatia's HEP power provider – did not manage to reach agreement on appointing the plant's new two-member management board on Wednesday, however, they agreed to resume talks on the matter after the completion of the regular overhaul of the plant.