Answer given by Mr Oettinger on behalf of the Commission

Under the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC, Croatia's national renewable energy target is 20.0% to be achieved by 2020. The percentage of renewable energy was 16.85% in 2012 according to preliminary figures from Eurostat. This is above the indicative trajectory specified by the Renewable Energy Directive.

According to the Croatian National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) a total contribution of 52 MW by 2020 is expected from solar plants. There are, according to the NREAP, no technical barriers for connection of these new capacities to the grid. The NREAP furthermore stipulates that, as of 30 September 2013, HROTE had already concluded contracts with 720 solar plant projects (with a total capacity of 37.42 MW), which have not yet been connected to the electricity network. These are primarily small solar plants of up to 30 kW.

The Commission has not been made aware of any limitations concerning the type of solar power plants that can be installed in 2014. In order to benefit from incentive prices, Croatian law stipulates a cap of 15 MW of the total installed capacity of all electric plants in the current year for integrated solar plants. The cap for solar plants that are not integrated is 10 MW. This is not in contradiction with Croatia's obligations under the Renewable Energy Directive as Member States retain a broad margin of discretion with regard to support schemes for renewable energy, taking into account the specific national circumstances, especially concerning climatic and economic conditions.