December 27, 2025
by in News

ENNA kicks off installation of its first solar power plant outside of Croatia

Romanian ENEVO Group has started the construction of a solar power plant for Croatia-based ENNA Group.

The site for the 87.5 MW photovoltaic plant is 25 kilometers southwest of Romania’s capital Bucharest. It is ENNA Group’s first major investment outside of Croatia.

Installation began after an EPC contract was signed in November between PVP Cepheus, owned by ENNA Solar, which is part of ENNA Group, and Romanian Enevo Group, ENNA said.

The Giurgiu solar power plant will be built in the Mihăilești area on 93 hectares. The expected annual electricity production is 133 GWh, the company added.

The investment is part of ENNA’s ten-year plan

The plant’s commercial operation and power delivery to the grid are scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. It is an investment of around EUR 60 million, according to the update.

“We are extremely pleased to announce the start of construction of our solar power plant just a few months after taking over the project. It is also a confirmation that we have chosen very reliable partners,” ENNA Group CEO Boštjan Napast stressed.

With this investment, the company is proving its commitment to a ten-year business plan with planned investments of EUR 330 million in solar energy in Croatia and abroad, he explained.

Under the EPC contract, Enevo is responsible for the entire solar power project – design, procurement, and construction.

Bureau Veritas is in charge of supervision services

Enevo Group Technical Director Radu Brașoveanu said it supports the expansion of the ENNA Group into the Romanian renewable energy market with this strategic solar investment.

Bureau Veritas will be in charge of supervision services in line with FIDIC standards, ENNA added.

Of note, the project in Romania was acquired in April.

It is implemented by ENNA Solar, which is part of the energy division of the ENNA Group. The parent company said it has around 50 MW in operational renewable energy plants or advanced projects, as well as about 350 MW in various stages of development.

ENNA is developing two geothermal power projects – Zagocha (Slatina) and Babina Greda.

In addition to energy, the company operates in the logistics sector.

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September 12, 2025
by in News

Severe electricity price spikes in SEE in summer 2024 could have been avoided – report

If 70% of the physical capacity of all power lines had been offered for cross-zonal trade by transmission system operators, half of the most severe price spikes or 147 spikes could have been avoided in South-East Europe in the summer of 2024, according to the latest report of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

The 2025 Monitoring Report examines the role of cross-zonal electricity trade in shaping a more integrated and efficient European Union electricity market. It also tracks progress, challenges and benefits in the implementation of the 70% requirement.

During the summer of 2024, the EU saw a significant increase in electricity prices, affecting mostly bidding zones in central and south-eastern Europe. Some countries experienced an unseen price increase on power exchanges, from 50% to 170%.

ACER noted that prices particularly spiked during the evening hours, reaching up to EUR 1,000 per MWh.

The prices were highest in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece

Prices were the highest in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. At the time, Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Greece, Romania and Bulgaria were preparing a proposal for an intervention mechanism.

According to ACER’s report, during the high-price events, spreads at several bidding zone borders in central Europe rose to unprecedented levels, signalling insufficient availability of cross-zonal capacity to accommodate the market’s need for cross-zonal exchanges.

The 70% requirement would have enabled an average reduction of peak prices by up to EUR 78 per MWh

The authors’ comparison of the average realized day-ahead prices during the evening peaks with the counterfactual scenario showed a considerable mitigation of prices.

It revealed that the implementation of the 70% requirement would have enabled an average reduction of peak prices by up to EUR 78 per MWh in central and south-east bidding zones, underlining the dampening effect of cross-zonal trade, the document reads.

According to ACER, higher availability of cross-zonal capacities in central Europe would have mitigated both the frequency and the severity of the high price events, as cross-zonal trade provides flexibility to the system.

End-2025 deadline is at risk

The 2019 Clean Energy Package introduced a legal requirement on EU electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) to offer at least 70% of their physical capacity on all lines of relevance for cross-zonal trade.

The obligation is intended to maximise cross-zonal trade and mitigate its discrimination over internal trade, ACER explained.

The 70% requirement ensures that domestic electricity flows are not prioritized over cross-border trade, mitigates price spikes, such as those seen in summer 2024 across South-East Europe, and brings significant additional welfare to EU electricity markets, it added.

The agency stressed that the end-2025 deadline is at risk.

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July 30, 2025
by in News

Slovenia tops EU list for most smart power meters, Croatia among laggards

Slovenia is very close to equipping all electricity consumers with smart meters, while Croatia is within reach of achieving it in the non-home segment, but far behind in the household category, according to the latest data from the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

At the top of the list of European Union member states with the highest share of smart meters, three countries are fully equipped with modern smart meters, Naš stik reported.

All consumers in Sweden, Denmark, and Italy have such devices installed. They are followed by Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Spain, and Portugal, all with 99% of households and 100% of non-household consumers equipped.

Germany is at the bottom of the table, with a rollout of just 2%

Next is Slovenia, with 97% overall. France reached 94% among households and 95% in the other category, while Malta is at 93% and 87%, respectively. Slovenia is expected to complete the process by the end of the year, the article added.

The laggards are Lithuania (51%, 95%), Belgium (46%, 79%), Poland (36%, 65%), Croatia (34%, 95%), Romania (27%, 45%), and Greece (12% altogether). Germany is at the bottom of the list, with a combined total of only 2%, according to ACER’s data.

Smart meters are one of the main components of the distribution grid upgrade

Croatia’s state-owned power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP) launched a tender last August worth EUR 86.5 million, for the purchase of smart meters. The company said at the time that it planned to install them at all metering points in the country by the end of 2029.

Smart meters are a crucial factor for modernizing distribution networks. It is necessary for the future power system, where consumers will play a very different role, generating electricity for self-consumption and through demand response and flexibility services.

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