Zvonimir Šibalić at the “Vision of Croatia's Energy Future” Conference

PPD Management Board Member participated in a panel where consensus was reached on the continued role of gas as one of the key energy sources for Croatia's energy mix.

January 30, 2025 – Zvonimir Šibalić, a member of the PPD Management Board, participated on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, in the Jutarnji list conference entitled “Vision of Croatia's Energy Future.” The conference was held at the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb and brought together around 200 representatives of leading Croatian energy companies, state funds and agencies, and scientific institutions.

Zvonimir Šibalić participated in a panel discussion titled “Transition to a Low-Carbon Energy Future.” Alongside Šibalić, the panel included Vedran Špehar, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy; Zsuzsanna Ortutay, President of the Management Board of INA; Andreas Rorig, President of the Management Board of E.ON Croatia; Ivan Paić, Member of the Management Board of Končar; and Ante Mandić, President of the Management Board of Petrol. The panel reached a consensus on the continued role of gas as one of the key energy sources for Croatia's energy mix.

"Europe has gone through a difficult period of energy crisis and high energy prices, which can be an incentive for further investments in renewable energy sources," stated Zvonimir Šibalić, while also pointing out that due to their flexibility and return on investment, gas-fired power plants will continue to play an important role in balancing the grid. He added that Europe currently has much greater flexibility in gas supply than before when it secured fifty percent of its gas needs from Russia.

"In that context, Croatia has the potential with the LNG terminal to move away from being someone who was once last in the gas supply chain from Russia and, in the new circumstances, take on a much more important role," assessed Šibalić.

Building on his statement, Vedran Špehar from the Ministry of Economy pointed out the importance of building a gas pipeline network that goes from the Krk terminal to the interior of Croatia and further towards Central Europe.

"The goal is for gas from the Krk terminal to go not only towards Slovenia and Hungary, but also towards Austria and Germany, which does not depend solely on us," added Špehar.

The participants of the meeting were also addressed by the Minister of Economy, Ante Šušnjar, in his opening remarks.

"By 2030, we will ensure, among other things, 3500 megawatts of new capacity from renewable energy sources. Projects for the construction of power plants with a capacity of 1200 megawatts from renewables are already ready, but the construction of these power plants, for reasons unknown to us, is not starting," stated the Minister of Economy. He drew attention to the development of new clean energy sources, alongside solar and wind power plants that have already gained momentum.

"The development of nuclear technology has put small modular reactors in focus, which should certainly be considered as one of the low-carbon solutions in Croatia. ¹ We will soon take concrete steps on this issue," emphasized Šušnjar, also recalling the importance of developing geothermal sources for electricity production.  

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The participants of the meeting announced that the change in the US administration will undoubtedly affect the European energy market and that Europe must accelerate the processes of decision-making and issuing permits for RES. Maja Pokrovac from the Croatian Renewable Energy Sources Association warned about the situation in Croatia.

"For 28 months, 2648 megawatts, which is the size of investments of five Pelješac bridges, have been stalled. The reason is that the calculation of the unit fee, i.e., the price to start a renewable energy project, has not been adopted," warned Pokrovac, explaining that the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) has not yet made a decision on the amount of the grid connection fee, and it was obliged to do so two years ago.

You can read more about the “Vision of Croatia's Energy Future” conference on the Jutarnji list portal.