As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, with the new project for the construction of a solar power plant with a capacity of 2.4 MW, with a total value of 11.7 million kuna, the Croatian company Podravka is joining the increasingly rapid global trend of using renewable energy sources, and all with the intention of intensifying this type of project in the future as well.
This praiseworthy move indicates this much loved company’s intention to put the roofs of the remaining factories; Belupo and their logistics capacities, into the function of business savings in the foreseeable future. As a socially responsible company, Podravka clearly plans to further contribute to the wider community by kickstarting a number of projects with environmental benefits.
These premises are already considering the necessary financial estimates for the next two phases in which this truly ambitious goal would be reached – 9.9 MW of RES power.
In the first phase, the RES will produce electricity for its own consumption for all three of the Croatian company Podravka’s factories in the Danica Industrial Zone in Koprivnica: the Baby Food and Cream Spreads factory, the Soup and Vegeta Factory, and the Danica factory – which is primarily a sausage factory.
The expected return on this investment is currently three and a half years, while the construction of the “Podravka – Danica” solar power plant, with a power of photovoltaic modules of 3,059.76 kWp, otherwise one of the largest in the Republic of Croatia, will cost 10.3 million kuna. A handsome 5.1 million kuna has been approved for this part of the project, with co-financing from both the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Croatia from the Rural Development Programme.
The Ministry of Agriculture also awarded a non-refundable amount based on the Croatian company Podravka’s application for the tender for the implementation of Submeasure 4.2. Support for investments in processing, marketing and/or the development of agricultural products.
The remaining amount of the project, standing at a not so small 1.4 million kuna, refers to the construction of a substation through which the solar power plant will be connected to HEP’s electricity network, and that is and will remain fully financed by Podravka alone.
The expected annual production of this power plant is 3.2 MWh, and, as the Croatian company Podravka reports, its commissioning will lead to significant savings in the cost of electricity from conventional sources for the needs of the enterprise’s busy factories, but also to a positive impact on the environment by reducing harmful excess CO2 emissions.
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