Renewable energy businesses say sector is at a standstill

Representatives of the Union of Renewable Energy Sources at the Croatian Chamber of Economy have presented a position paper warning about a holdup in investment in and production of green energy. 

The group is pushing for ministries to cut red tape and speed processing. They claim projects valued at around 300 million euros are being held back needlessly.

"Simply put, out of 216 projects, 16 have been approved. We've had some 30 tenders. However, what we've processed and approved is under 10%. At this rate, we're not going to achieve anything for years,” said Alojša Pleić, the Vice-President of the Renewable Energy Sources Union at the Chamber of Economy.

The group has sent the position paper, which includes an analysis of the situation and offers solutions, to the government. As the key reason for the additional slowdown in the development of the sector, they cite the failure to pass a large number of regulations facilitating the implementation of legislation.

“That's why it's not as important to change the law but to find a way to speed up implementation of all laws and to pass all the other rules and regulations that are needed,” said Pleić.

State Secretary at the Economy Ministry Ivo Milatić claims their claims are false.

"I categorically reject the claim that only 16 projects have been approved when in fact the number is 114. If we were to look at the power output these projects are aiming for, among these 114 was one that was 900 megawatts,” said Milatić.