Photo: Vedran Vlahović
On April 15, we officially put the first solar power plant in Croatia, entirely owned by us, into operation. The plant is located on the roof of the City Market in Križevci. The ownership of this solar power plant is shared by 127 citizens, with more than a quarter of them coming from the Koprivnica-Križevci County.
The weather conditions on the first day of the plant’s operation vividly reflected the challenges we faced over the two years it took us to realize this pioneering endeavor. From morning clouds, light rain, wind, and showers, the day culminated with the Sun shining as we launched the first ZEZ Sun power plant. This marks a significant milestone in the country’s journey towards community-driven renewable energy.
Mislav Kirac, manager of ZEZ Sun and program coordinator at the Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ), emphasized the significance of this achievement: “All citizens in Croatia have the right to produce their own electricity, and energy communities are one way to realize that right. The solar power plant at the City Market is our first project, but certainly not the last. We are open to collaboration with all local communities interested in initiating similar initiatives in their cities.”
The collective investment of €140,000, raised in just ten days by the members of ZEZ Sun, funded the construction of the 200 kW solar power plant. The energy produced is sufficient to supply the equivalent of approximately seventy households and will initially be sold on the market. Plans include enabling energy sharing among cooperative members, allowing them to use the solar energy generated directly in their homes or businesses, in alignment with the legal framework for energy sharing once it becomes possible in practice.
The City of Križevci has a history of supporting citizen-led renewable energy projects. Mayor Mario Rajn highlighted the city’s commitment: “Although this is the first solar power plant in Croatia entirely owned by citizens, Križevci already has experience with such initiatives. Following the success of the ‘Križevci Sunny Roofs’ solar energy projects in 2018 and 2019, this is the third citizen energy project in our city. All of this is part of our vision for Križevci to become an energy-independent city by 2030. I hope other cities will follow this example, and I invite my fellow mayors to be bold and utilize public resources for citizen energy.”
ZEZ Sunce is currently preparing new projects and invites interested individuals to follow their website for upcoming opportunities to participate in the production of local, clean energy. For more information, visit the ZEZ Sunce official website.
The development of the first citizen-owned solar power plant has been supported by the LIFE LOOP project, funded under the European Union’s LIFE Programme, Clean Energy Transition sub-programme (LIFE-2021-CET).
