The Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ), in cooperation with the Covenant of Mayors Europe, the Croatian Association of Towns, and the Island Movement, is organising the Good Energy Tour, a campaign to promote solar energy for personal consumption throughout Croatian cities. The first edition of the tour took place in the autumn of 2020 when the cooperative visited 11 Croatian cities in continental Croatia and Istria. In 2021, the tour includes 12 additional cities selected through a public call: Čakovec, Ludbreg, Prelog, Zaprešić, Ivanić-Grad, Slavonski Brod, Pleternica, Slatina, Zadar, Cres, Mali Lošinj, and Hvar.
The cost of installing a home solar power plant, installation conditions, required documentation, opportunities for co-financing, the potential to join forces with fellow citizens for the purpose of energy exchange – these are just a few examples of the topics that citizens have the opportunity to learn first-hand at the educational workshops in the host cities of the Good Energy Tour. “The use of solar energy is no longer a matter of the distant future. Home solar power plants are affordable and usable in every part of Croatia, and we want to help citizens use them in a way that will be most profitable for them,” explained representatives of the Green Energy Cooperative.
The campaign is locally focused in order to demonstrate the benefits and opportunities related to the use of solar energy to as many citizens as possible and encourage understanding of solar energy as a local resource that can boost the development of local economies. In addition to educational workshops for citizens, the Green Energy Cooperative will support 12 host cities in the development and investment of solar energy projects through advisory activities.
“With 0.5% of electricity obtained from the sun, Croatia lags behind EU countries in terms of using its solar potential. The Good Energy Tour is one of the initiatives to encourage its greater use. That’s why the priority in choosing the host cities of the tour is also given to the cities that stand out in their commitment and readiness for further investments in solar energy, especially in the context of achieving the goals of the European Green Deal,” concluded the Green Energy Cooperative.