From Guest Blogger Romeo: Production of Negawatts – Energy Efficiency Measures in Croatia

The whole world is trying to reduce energy consumption and save the planet, and Croatia is no exception. All countries within the EU must use renewable sources for 20% of their energy use by 2020, whilst also increasing their energy efficiency by 20%. New power plants are powered by wind, or sun, and in Croatia, as in other European countries, reliance on fossil fuels is diminishing and people are being encouraged to buy energy-saving appliances.

Solar collectors are being touted as one of the best ways for individual property owners to make a difference to the problem and help with the energy efficiency of the country as a whole. You can make your own solar connector by following plans that are available on the internet ( for example here). There are also workshops run by The Green Action that will show you how to build one for your own property. But there are many other ways that real estate in an area can be adapted to improve energy efficiency.

It is important that there be a two-pronged approach to energy conservation and the implementation of renewable technologies. On the one hand it is essential to make energy savings on a household level. On the other is is also important that governmental policy helps householders and ensures that the whole country continues to move in the right direction. In the past few years, the Croatian Energy Efficiency Program has done a lot to improve the energy profile of public real estate – over 52% of Croatian public-sector buildings are now covered by an energy efficiency program and that statistic continues to improve. Energy audits kicked off a series of energy-efficiency investment projects worth $30 million.

Croatia’s CO2 emissions continue to fall. But more is, of course, still desperately needed. Over 10,000 civil servants in the country have taken part in a specialized energy-efficiency training provided by the program, but it is important that more continues to be done, and more people are educated about the issues and can help to solve them. There are fears that Croatia is charging headlong down the wrong track in terms of some of the government’s energy policy and could become at odds with the EU. More education and more energy expertise in the country could help.

The city of Sibenik is leading the way in energy efficiency and research in the field. In an important stage of the country’s energy revolution, the first bunch of students have enrolled at Sibenik Educational Centre in two new fields of study, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies. These courses are run remotely from Zagreb University and the professors who run the classes will come from the University’s Faculty of Engineering and FSB. The classes, attended by around 30 students, started in the fall, and are held in the Maritime Innovation Centre, iNavis.
There is a lot of hope for the future of energy efficiency and sustainable development in Croatia.

In December 2014, UNDP and the EU held meetings to discuss renewable energy cooperation between the European Union and the Western Balkans. It seems that the talks were a success, and the future looks bright.