Croatia's HEP to Invest $1.85 bln in Renewable Energy by 2030

Croatia's state-run power utility HEP aims to boost renewable energy to 50 percent of its total capacity from the current 35 percent, investing 1 billion Croatian kuna ($153.96 million) a year on average until 2030, it said on Thursday.

It will upgrade existing hydro power plants, as well as adding new ones, and invest in other renewable sources, HEP said in a statement.

The company is currently running an open tender procedure for the construction of a 6.5 megawatt (MW) solar power plant on the island of Cres, which will be the largest in the country to date.

Talks are also underway on the acquisition of two solar and two wind farms, it said, adding that a total of 600 million kuna will be allocated for these projects in 2019 alone.

Croatia, the European Union's newest member, imports 40 percent of its electricity, around 40 percent of its gas and up to 80 percent of its oil.

It currently has 4,500 MW of installed power generation capacity with HEP controlling 85 percent of the electricity market. 

(Reuters, Reporting by Maja Zuvela; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)