Croatia's HEP to build biomass CHP plant

Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP), a national power company in Croatia, has secured construction permit for a woodchip-fired combined heat and power plant (CHP) in Osijek, the fourth largest city in the country.

According to the country's economic ministry, HEP has plans to begin construction works by December this year. The new facilities are expected to be fully operational by early 2017.

The CHP project will have an annual electricity production of 16,500 MWh, industrial steam production of 32,400 t and thermal energy production of 53,200 MWh. It will be located at the Osijek thermal power plant (TPP) site.

The total project investment is estimated at €16.25 million (US$17.4 million).

HEP Group has 4,000 MW of installed capacity for electricity production and 1242 MW of heat production capacity. Within HEP Proizvodnja d.o.o. there are 26 hydro power plants and eight thermal power plants fired by oil, natural gas or coal. Some of them  produce both electricity and heat in a combined-cycle, forming the backbone of the district heating system in the cities of Zagreb, Osijek and Sisak.