Abbreviated form of legal source
Physical Planning Act
Environmental Protection Act
Description of the process
Generally, there are a lot of factors impacting the optimal choice of a site for a commercial RES installation (onshore wind or ground PV). Private PV installations on buildings are covered at the bottom.
For onshore wind and ground PV – locations for optimal production should be identified in accordance with geographical and geomorphogical features of the area and desired technological parameters of the system coupled with economic and practical implications of the project.
For example, for wind power, the Croatian Hidrometeorological Institute provides the Croatian Wind Atlas, which is a map of the Republic of Croatia depicting estimations of the average annual wind speed (m/s) and annual wind power density (W/m²) at altitudes of 10 to 80 m above the ground.
Furthermore - Spatial plans, maps of habitats, and maps of protected areas should be consulted in order to determine land purposes, conditions for land use, and to account for possible conflicting interests with the project and to eliminate sensitive or prohibited areas from planning. It is also advisable to find out, as early as possible, the willingness of the local authorities (municipality and the county) to support the project. Moreover, in many habitats and protected areas, it is imperative to undertake appropriate compensation measures.
Concerning property rights, the project developer either acquires the project site by purchasing the land or (most commonly) rents/leases it from the owner. As most of the land used for onshore wind power projects are state-owned, questions of public procurement law can arise. This should be dealt with in an early stage in order to avoid (judicial) conflicts later on.
As far as the local grid is concerned, the Croatian TSO (HOPS) or the DSO (HEP-ODS) should be contacted at an early stage in order to find out the available grid capacity in the desired area.
For solar energy (PV) on buildings – aforementioned factors and considerations do not apply as much to private PV installations on buildings.
Competent authority
Counties and municipalities