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Description
The project aims at increasing the production of electricity from solar energy and strengthening the cooperation between Croatian and Norwegian entities from the public and private sector and academic community. The project will result in annual electricity production of 797.09 MWh and annual reduction of 126.42 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The project foresees the activities of 1) project management, 2) information and communication, 3) procurement and installation of integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, 4) strengthening the capacity for management and promotion of energy from renewable sources and 5) enhancing cooperation among organizations in the beneficiary country (HR) and donor countries (NO).
Implementation of these activities will directly contribute to all programme results:
1) increasing the installed capacities for using renewable energy sources by implementing 7 pilot projects of installation of integrated PV systems on public buildings in the area of City of Virovitica, resulting in 0.7 MW of total power output.
2) strengthened capacities of representatives of public and private sector, civil society, citizens, pupils and students for management and promotion of energy from RES through the organization of 3 workshops, 3 conferences, application of augmented reality solution on 4 locations as well as other numerous contents used for communication with end users and target groups.
3) establishing and enhancing of bi-lateral relationships between organizations from Croatia and Norway in the area of management and promotion of energy from RES through the organization of 2 study trips aimed at establishing direct contacts between representatives of organizations from public and private sector and technical faculties that will exchange experience and present good practices to find opportunities for co-operation by working on common projects during and beyond the project lifetime.
Summary of project results
The project objective was aimed at increasing the production of electricity from solar energy and strengthening cooperation between Croatian and Norwegian entities from the public and private sectors and the academic community.
The project directly contributes to Outcome 2 "Increased production of energy from renewable sources" through the implementation of 7 pilot projects for the installation of photo voltaic (PV) power plants on public buildings in the City of Virovitica. The project also contributed to the achievement of Outputs 2.1 and 2.2, i.e. increasing the installed capacity for the use of energy from renewable sources through installed PV power plants and strengthening the capacity for the management and promotion of energy from renewable sources, mostly through workshops held. In terms of bilateral output, the project aimed to increase cooperation between entities in the beneficiary country and in the donor country (Norway), i.e. increasing cooperation between the HR partner and the University of Stavanger partner from Norway.
Key statistics, trends and questions that the project aimed to answer are:
- That only 0.65% of total electricity production in Croatia comes from solar energy despite the fact that Croatia has 2400 to 2800 hours of sunshine per year and a high potential for harnessing solar energy.
- Lack of understanding of the environmental and economic benefits of generating electricity from solar energy, which are reflected in the reduction of CO2 emissions and financial savings, especially among younger generations and key stakeholders managing projects related to energy use and energy infrastructure.
- That citizens consider harnessing solar energy to be too expensive, less efficient and administratively too complex.
- Lack of awareness of how to access incentives and grants that support the procurement and installation of solar power plants.
- Limited availability of information on best practices in the donor countries of the program (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) related to the successful management and promotion of electricity production from solar energy.
The project implemented 5 basic activities:
1) project management – defining the roles and structure of the project team, monitoring and reporting on the project, coordination between all partners, contractors and the competent Ministry, monitoring the project finances and budget, and other activities key to the proper and quality implementation of the project.
2) information and communication – coordinating the creation of the project''s visual identity and website, organizing the opening and closing conferences, organizing 3 workshops with the aim of strengthening capacities for energy management and promotion, organizing 1 info day with the aim of promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources (RES), coordinating the implementation of Augmented Reality (AR) solutions at 4 locations for the purpose of promoting and informing citizens, creating information and QR boards, creating the final publication and final promotional video, creating a promotional leaflet that was sent by mail to about 15,000 users of public water supply services, preparing press releases, monitoring media releases for the promotion of the project, and other activities key to informing and communicating.
3) procurement and installation of integrated solar power plants - implementation of an innovative process of unified public procurement for construction and expert supervision for all 7 photo voltaic power plants on the project and additional unification of the procurement of 29 additional power plants from another project from the same Program called One Sun (#18). Aggregation of 2 projects with the aim of increasing competitiveness and obtaining economically and qualitatively more profitable offers is key and innovative. The procedure was carried out for a total of 20 clients (of which 3 from the Green VTC project) and 36 photo voltaic power plants (of which 7 from the Green VTC project). The coordination of all key stakeholders in the installation process was extremely important for the successful execution of the project.
4) strengthening of capacities for management and promotion of renewable energy – capacity building activities are included in point 2.
5) increasing cooperation between entities in Croatia and Norway – includes study trips of the HR partner to Stavanger (NO) and the Norwegian partner to HR with the aim of establishing direct contacts between representatives of public and private sector entities and technical faculties who will, through the exchange of experiences and presentation of examples of good practice, find opportunities for cooperation by working on joint projects during the duration of the project and after its completion. All partners have also signed a Networking Agreement (MoU) with the aim of improving bilateral relations, encouraging the development of RES projects and reducing CO2 emissions in the future.
The implementation of the above activities contributed to all program results and key immediate results 2.1 and 2.2 relating to installed capacities for the use of energy from renewable sources and strengthened capacities for the management and promotion of renewable energy sources, as well as bilateral results:
1) Increase in installed capacities for the use of energy from RES through 7 implemented pilot projects for the installation of integrated solar power plants with a total capacity of 747.35 kWp and an estimated annual electricity production of 797.09 MWh and a reduction in CO2 emissions by 126.42 t., on public buildings in the area of the City of Virovitica.
2) Strengthened capacities for the management and promotion of energy from RES among representatives of the public, private and civil sectors, as well as citizens, pupils and students in Croatia through the organization of 3 workshops, 1 info day, application of augmented reality technology at 4 locations and numerous other contents intended for communication with end users and target groups.
3) Establishing and improving bilateral relations between entities from the Republic of Croatia and the Kingdom of Norway in the field of management and promotion of energy from renewable sources by organizing 2 study tours with the aim of establishing direct contacts between representatives of public and private sector entities and technical faculties who will, through the exchange of experiences and presentation of examples of good practice, find opportunities for cooperation by working on joint projects during the duration of the project and after its completion. In addition, a Networking Agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed with the aim of improving bilateral relations, encouraging the development of RES projects and reducing CO2 emissions in the future.
The main target groups that benefit from the project are:
1) Representatives of the public, private and civil sectors who are associated with projects using renewable energy sources for energy production. Target groups from the public sector are representatives of utility companies and departments for spatial planning and construction in local and regional self-governments and the academic community. Representatives of the civil society sector include those who work or volunteer in non-governmental organizations and work in the field of energy production from renewable sources, and representatives of the private sector include IT experts, equipment suppliers, contractors and other companies working on renewable energy projects, especially solar energy. By participating in conference events, workshops and study trips (in Croatia and Norway), they gained new knowledge and thereby strengthened their capacities for managing and promoting the production of electricity from solar energy in Croatia. After this project, representatives of the public sector and the civil society sector can better plan future projects and provide citizens with more information about the technical and financial possibilities for building solar power plants in their area, while representatives of the private sector have gained additional knowledge and information they need for their own similar projects.
2) Pupils in primary and secondary schools and students - the solution in augmented reality, i.e. the interactive AR application that was implemented through the project, is especially interesting for the younger population, who in the future will take on the role of project holders and will be key stakeholders in the energy transition. The AR application aims to educate users about technologies and the possibilities of using RES. An added value is that Virovitica is home to a Polytechnic with a major in electrical engineering, and this application is particularly useful for their students.
3) Citizens - by receiving information about the project through the partnership''s website, online materials, and project news, citizens are informed about the benefits of using solar energy and are more willing to support actions in their community and even install solar power plants on their facilities. It is particularly important to emphasize the implementation of the kick-off conference and workshops focusing on the process of installing PV power plants in family homes for their own needs and the possibilities for financing through the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund and local/regional sources. In this way, communication activities served as a means of encouraging citizens to adopt new technologies and build their own infrastructure, which will also contribute to their involvement, which is necessary to achieve the long-term goals related to sustainable development from this program, as well as the EU''s energy and climate goals.
Summary of bilateral results
REA North and Croatian partners organized bilateral activities with a partner from Norway (University of Stavanger). These activities improved the exchange of knowledge on solar energy production, made the project results sustainable and contributed to the development of new activities that stimulate green energy production and reduce CO2 emissions in Croatia and Norway. Activities to establish bilateral cooperation include:1) A four-day study trip to Stavanger. Participants were representatives of REA North, the City of Virovitica, Virovitica General Hospital and Virkom Llc. The purpose of this trip was to learn how solar energy (and other RES) is managed in Stavanger. 2) A four-day study trip to Croatia. In order to encourage cooperation between Croatia and Norway and to demonstrate the advantages of the pilots developed in this project, a study trip was organized for 2 Norwegian participants to Croatia. 3) Signing of the networking agreement: Based on the feedback received after the study trips and communication between the stakeholders, REA North has drawn up an agreement with the partners in which the project will take place. The main focus of the agreement is on improving bilateral relations between Norway and Croatia in managing and encouraging the transition to renewable sources and reducing CO2 emissions.The main challenge for both sides was the organization of high-quality and useful locations for the study tours and the engagement of experts who would give presentations. Given the excellent connections between the Croatian and Norwegian partners with local, regional and national companies and experts, the study tour was carried out with the highest possible quality and content on both sides. Given that the study tour to Croatia was organized at the same time as the final conference, such an organization required significant human resources for implementation.