A community in northern Croatia has become the first in the country to benefit from new regulations governing energy communities. The 17 members share solar energy from a rooftop array located on a voluntary fire department.
Croatia’s first energy community is now operational. The community utilizes a rooftop solar plant on the building of the volunteer fire brigade in Špičkovina, a settlement near Zabok in the county of Krapina-Zagorje, northern Croatia.
The project, implemented by the North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency (REGEA), features a rooftop solar array currently 32 kW in size, with plans to double the capacity to 64 kW.
The community has 17 members in total, consisting of volunteer firefighters, local residents, one micro-enterprise and the voluntary fire department itself, named DVD Špičkovina.
Ivana Belić, Head of Strategic Communications at REGEA, explained to pv magazine the community operates on an energy-sharing model, without on-site storage, that differs from conventional self-consumption.
