Vis Island – Largest Croatian solar power plant starts working

A historical day for Vis island, as the new solar power plant starts working on the island, making Vis completely self-sufficient. Members of the government, along with the HEP (Croatian Electricity Company) representatives have put into operation the largest power plant in the country. Solar power plant has the power of 3.5 MW and is the first of seven planned to put in action in 2020. The entire project is worth about 100 million Euros, with all the power plants planned to be active by 2023. Vis Island now has its own renewable energy source and better safety when it comes to electricity, especially when the demand gets higher in the summer season.

Today is the historical day for both Croatia and Island Vis and it marks the beginning of what’s to come in the next 10 years. In 2017 the government started its energy policy, directed towards renewable energy. This power plant is the best example of their plans and therefore I’d like to congratulate HEP and Koncar on this achievement.

Ivo Milatic, Ministry of Economy

Vis power plant is the first of its kind on Croatian islands. It will produce about 5 million kWh of electricity, suitable for 1600 households. It is built on the land of 5.5 ha, near Zene Glave village, 3.6 kilometers from Vis Town and 4.8 kilometers from Komiza. HEP representatives have stated they plan to keep contributing to the development of Croatian economy through similar projects. Koncar Engineering was the constructor of the power plant. They’ve also built a system of controlling and supervising the power plant. By developing their KonSol converter, they’ve ensured direct connection of the power plant to the distribution network.

Besides the power plant, a special 1 MW battery tank will be installed, first of its kind in the country. It will be used to ensure the balance of the electricity system and keep the network safety on the island. By building the power plants, battery tanks and installing the underground cables HEP is increasing the safety of electricity supply. Each year HEP invests about 150.000€ in infrastructure on Vis Island. In the next 3 years, they will invest about 3 million € in several projects. One of them is installing 20 kV cable lines Hvar – Pakleni Otoci – Vis and Vis – Bisevo. By 2030 they will build new wind farms and power plants amounting to 1500 MW. By the end of 202, wind farm Korlat (58 MW) will be installed, the first one built entirely by HEP.

Source: Pokret Otoka