Energy project developer and operator wpd and energy trader Danske Commodities signed a fixed-price commercial power purchase agreement – PPA for the Orlice wind farm in Croatia.

The very first post-feed-in commercial PPA between two non-state market participants in Croatia is about to be consumed, marking a new chapter in the energy transition of the Balkans. Under the agreement, Danske Commodities will be responsible for the trading and balancing of 9.6 MW in capacity installed in Orlice, which is owned by wpd, based in Germany.

Significant signal for development of energy market in region

The onshore wind farm is located near the city of Šibenik on the Dalmatian coast. Its output is equivalent to the electricity needs of more than 5,000 households. It was developed in 2009 by wpd, and the company has now signed the first agreement for Orlice with a commercial offtaker.

The company operates in Croatia and the Western Balkans through its subsidiary wpd Adria.

“The PPA we signed today marks the beginning of our cooperation with Danske Commodities in Croatia, but is also a significant signal for the development of the energy market in the region. Just as wpd was among the first wind farm developers in Croatia, we are now pioneering a PPA with another non-state market participant immediately after the expiry of the original feed-in tariff agreement concluded with the Croatian state market operator for the Orlice project,” wpd Adria’s Managing Director Zoran Obradovi? said.

Croatia’s green ambitions boosting demand for renewables

The energy transition is gaining momentum across Europe, creating new opportunities for the Balkan energy market, wpd said. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi? announced that Croatia intends to lower carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and to abandon the use of coal by 2033. The country is targeting a 39% share of renewables in final energy consumption in 2030, while the European Union is aiming for 32%.

Mosegaard: The PPA is aimed at setting a standard for more deals across the Balkans.

“Danske Commodities has traded energy in Croatia for more than 10 years and has been part of the country’s transition towards a greener economy. Now, Croatia is increasing its green ambitions, which means even more renewable energy will be needed. With this first commercial PPA signed, we hope to expand the development of renewables by strengthening the investment climate for future energy projects – and to set a standard for more deals to be made across the Balkan region,” said Tor Mosegaard, Head of European Power Trading at the Danish firm, owned by Norway’s Equinor.

Wpd owns four wind power plants in Croatia. The firm is developing the Braji?i project in Montenegro and has plans for more than 1.2 GW in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina including a solar park. Its 415 MW Virovi wind farm project was recently declared a strategic investment by the Government of North Macedonia.

According to its website, wpd Adria is interested in investing throughout former Yugoslavia and in Albania.