Croatia’s HEP to install first floating PV plant on reservoir of HPP Dubrava
Hrvatska Elektroprivreda is preparing to build its first floating solar power plant, with a capacity of 12 MW. It will be installed on the reservoir of its Dubrava hydropower plant.
State-owned company Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP) has already installed one photovoltaic facility near HPP Dubrava, but it was ground-mounted. The Donja Dubrava PV plant has a capacity of 9.9 MW.
Combining hydro with solar into hybrid power plants is an increasingly popular solution for power companies. HEP is already building a hybrid energy park, the first in the country. It is located near the town of Benkovac.
The floating photovoltaic plant would have a barrier against waves and waste
Back in 2023, the company presented plans to build a floating PV plant as part of HPP Dubrava, on the Drava river. It has a capacity of 79.78 MW, while the average production, which started in 1989, is 350 GWh.
It is located near the town of Prelog, in northern Croatia.
HPP Dubrava is the last on in a cascade three multi-purpose HPPs on the Drava river. In addition to producing electricity, they contribute to water supply, flood and soil erosion protection, irrigation and drainage, and host roads. Now they are set to add solar panels.
HEP has submitted an application to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition for the evaluation of the need for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for its floating solar project.
The facility will be attached to the lake bottom with 62 anchors
It would be installed on a floating platform consisting of a prefab structure, buoys filled with expanding polystyrene foam, and an anchoring structure, the request reads.
The power plant would also have a barrier against waves and floating waste. The floating platform and the barrier are planned to be attached by steel ropes to the bottom of the lake at 62 spots.
The project comprises 19,812 solar panels with a capacity of 615 W, spanning 8.9 hectares. More details on the project can be found in an environmental protection report issued in October 2024 and updated in March by the Hrvoje Požar Energy Institute.
