Ivana Lučin, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, Rijeka
Zoran Čarija, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, Rijeka
Surya Teja Kandukuri, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Oslo, Norway, Jon Lilletuns vei 9 H, 3. et, 4879 Grimstad
Rune Schlanbusch, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Oslo, Norway, Jon Lilletuns vei 9 H, 3. et, 4879 Grimstad
The RePowerEU plan has a plan for an increase of wind energy to 480 GW by 2030 and 300 GW from offshore wind farms to achieve goals of climate neutrality by 2050. Due to Croatia’s substantial dependence on nautical and coastal tourism and great concern regarding the negative environmental impact, the installation of offshore wind farms has not been previously conducted. However, due to increased demand for renewables the potential of offshore energy resurfaced. The recent Action Plan for the uptake of Offshore Renewable Energy Sources in Croatia (May, 2023) estimated offshore wind potential at 25 GW and identified more than 29 000 km2 of area available for offshore renewables. The main problem is that Croatian legislation is not prepared for such installations and currently, the available capacity of the grid is not sufficient for large projects at sea. Examples of good practice can be found in countries which have experience in offshore energy harvesting, such as Norway. Bilateral actions between countries can help in establishing dialogue and suggesting most suitable solutions. Norway’s vast experience in offshore engineering and pioneering developments in offshore wind, make it a suitable partner in joint innovation and a resource for tried and tested best practices. As an outcome of collaborative research, the work outlines the required evaluations in Croatian context, in terms of the social, environmental, legislative and technical aspects that are to be considered towards large scale integration of wind energy into the Croatian grid and identifies necessary grid improvements to achieve a reliable and sustainable grid of the future.