Second project at Trtar-Krtolin more than doubles capacity

An 11.2 MW wind farm near Sibenik seaport has been inaugurated by Croatia's economy minister, Branko Vukelic. Developed by EnerSys Dubrovnik, the Croatian subsidiary of German wind firm WPD, the Trtar-Krtolin project is the country's second wind farm and comprises 14 Enercon E48 wind turbines. It will produce 30 GWh of electricity a year, enough to supply over 10,000 households in the Sibenik area. All of the electricity generated will be sold to Croatian power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP) under a 15 year contract. EnerSys subsidiary Vjetroelektrana Trtar-Krtolin (VTK) will operate the plant. VTK has an agreement with the city of Sibenik to contributing 0.5% of the facility's annual revenues to community projects. Trtar-Krtolin brings Croatia's total wind capacity to 16.8 MW from 21 turbines. Croatia has set a legislative goal for 900 GWh of renewables electricity by 2010, excluding large hydro. A national energy program, ENWIND, came into force in September and offers a fixed power purchase price of EUR 0.057/kWh for wind projects up to 5 MW rated capacity. The law also exempts wind plant from the licensing fees that other generators must pay to local authorities.