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Guidelines for the development of inclusive electricity production from offshore wind energy for the area of Istria County

The first draft of guidelines for the development of an inclusive offshore wind farm for the Istrian County was held in the hall of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce on Monday, February 19, 2024.

Drafting was preceded by three workshops where gathered stakeholders shared inputs related to the topics of environmental protection, fishing, spatial planning, the possibility of connecting an offshore wind farm to the power system and various socio-economic aspects.  

Since there are no similar projects in Croatia, the goal of the workshops is to establish an active dialogue with key stakeholders who have an interest in influencing the inclusion of the development of offshore wind farms that will contribute to the self-sufficiency of electricity supply in the Istrian County. Due to the significant dependence on fossil fuels, especially in the production of electricity, the national and regional decision to replace coal as an energy source with clean and renewable energy sources, and the announcement of the closure of the Plomin 2 TPP in 2033, solar and wind energy were detected as two key sources for the production of electricity, with defined target installation capacities of 400 and 500 MW.

Participants were presented with three potential zones of interest, each of which covers 200 km2. Two of the mentioned zones are located in the exclusive economic zone west and southwest of the Istrian peninsula, while the third is located south within the territorial sea under the jurisdiction of the Istrian County Assembly.

They were detected based on numerous factors, primarily wind speed and density, and bathymetric characteristics. Areas of international maritime corridors, existing concession areas for the exploitation of hydrocarbons, protected marine and Nature 2000 areas were excluded. When defining potential zones of interest, the possibility of connection to the power grid was also taken into account. Other limitations, obstacles and opportunities were the subject of the workshop, with the aim to establish an active dialogue with all key actors who have an interest in participating in an open and transparent process of defining guidelines for the inclusion of an offshore wind farm.

Considering the specificity of the area of ​​the County of Istria, the importance of fishing, tourism, protecting the environment and the marine ecosystem, and the necessity of involving local business, the goal of the Istria County and IRENA, Istrian Regional Energy Agency, is to define a model of an inclusive offshore wind farm, where the goal is not to maximize the electricity production, but maximizing the sum of production effects of all relevant economic sectors while improving the state of the marine ecosystem.