Croatia
The Croatian energy strategy has three basic energy objectives:
• Security of energy supply;
• Competitive energy system;
• Sustainable energy sector development.
In the energy sector, the Croatian government adopted the following national goals following EU decisions in this sector:
• A 20 % decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 in comparison with 1990;
• A 20 % of renewable energy sources in gross final energy consumption in 2020;
• A 10 % shall be a share of renewable energy sources in 2020, used in all types of transport in comparison with final gasoline and diesel fuel, biofuel consumption in road and railway transport, and total electricity consumption in transport;
• A 9 % decrease of final energy consumption by 2016 applying energy efficiency measures;
• In 2020, electricity production should be enough to cover domestic consumption;
• A 35 % electricity from large hydropower plants and other renewable energy sources in total electricity consumption.
The goal of the Croatian energy strategy is to build a sustainable energy system that makes a balanced contribution to security of energy supply, competitiveness, and environmental protection and provides for security and availability of energy supply to the Croatian citizens and business sector. Such energy supply is a pre- requisite for economy and social development.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Labor, and Entrepreneurship, using renewable energy is one of the strategic objectives within the national energy pol- icy adopted in 2009. Croatia has a goal to maintain 35 % of the electricity generation share from renewable energy sources, including large hydropower plants, in its overall electricity consumption until 2020. It will promote a goal of renewable sources, including large hydropower plants, in final energy consumption of 20 %.
Hydropower Installed Capacity
In 2012, the installed hydroelectric capacity in Croatia was 1,873 MW17; this rep- resents 46.64 % of the total installed capacity in the country in that year and 90.88 % of the total renewables installed capacity. According to the world’s hydro- power installed capacity, the country occupies the place 56; within the European region, Croatia occupies the place 18. The average growth in the hydropower sec- tor in the country in the past 10 years was 0.88 %. Within that period, the hydro- power sector in Croatia grew in 5 years.
Hydropower Electricity Generation
According to government sources, at least 300 MW of new hydropower capacity will be added until 2020, including the construction of pump hydropower plants and 100 MW in small hydropower plants (140 MW till year 2030). According to Validzic (2011), about 200 MW of small hydropower plants is in the pipeline.
According to Fig. 3.16, the participation of hydropower in the generation of electricity in Croatia is 62.7 %, by far the highest percentage among the different energy sources available in the country used for this specific purpose.
The evolution of the generation of electricity using hydropower plants in Croatia during the period 2008–2012 is shown in Fig. 3.17. According to that figure, the generation of electricity in the country using hydropower plants during the period 2008–2011 increased 59.7 %. However, the use of hydropower plants for the generation of electricity during the period 2010–2012 decreased 14 %. It is expected that the generation of electricity using hydropower plants in the county will continue to be high during the coming years.
For 2020, electricity consumption is expected to reach 28 TWh. The strategy adopted envisages construction of 2,700 MW of base-load generating capacity, of which 300 MW is in large hydropower plants. It also foresees intensive construction of power generating facilities harnessing renewable sources, such as wind parks, small hydropower plants, biomass, biogas, geothermal, and solar power plants.