Future water use and the Future water use and the challenge of hydropower challenge of hydropower

development in western Balkandevelopment in western Balkan 11-13 February 2013

Republic of CroatiaRepublic of Croatia

Vesna Trbojević,Vesna Trbojević, Mynistry of Agriculture, Water Management Mynistry of Agriculture, Water Management Directorate (tvesna@voda.hr)Directorate (tvesna@voda.hr)

Mirjana Švonja, Mirjana Švonja, Croatian Waters (smirjana@voda.hr)Croatian Waters (smirjana@voda.hr)

Water use

Under the Croatian Water Act water use implies the abstraction, pumping and use of surface water and groundwater for various purposes.

Water supply - Water supply - public interestpublic interest

Technological and cooling purposes, irrigation, fishponds,Technological and cooling purposes, irrigation, fishponds, exploitation exploitation

of water power and other types of water useof water power and other types of water use::

- predominantly - predominantly commercial interestcommercial interest - subject to market impacts

The right to use water or water power is acquired on the basis of a concession contract (except for public water-no need)

Concession giver is:- the ministry in charge of water- the government - the Croatian Parliament (for hydroelectric power more than 20 MW)

Quantity of water abstraction

The greatest amount of abstracted water is provided for public water supply (app. 0.825*109 m3 per year).

88% of the abstracted drinking water quantities come from groundwater

12% comes from the surface water (watercourses and reservoirs).

The public water supply systems cover: 94% of the total population in the

Adriatic river basin district 84% of the total population in the

Danube river basin district.

84%

94%

Based on the concessions awarded, a total quantity of water which can be abstracted (not including fishponds and exploitation of water power) is:

app. 1.13*109 m3 per year

Total renewable water resources

Water abstraction (l/s) Groundwater Surface water

( 61% ) ( 39% )

The total renewable water resources in Croatia is112*109 m3 of water per year.

Abstracted quantities water isnot significant (1% ) in relation to available water resources.

Croatia has plenty of water, but local problems with the

quantitative status of water are occasionally possible

water being unevenly distributed in space and time.

Hydropower potential

The overall water potential in the Republic of Croatia which is technically exploitable in the hydropower plants has been estimated at 12450 GWh/year.

Small watercourses account for app. 1000 GWh/year or around 10% of the total water potential.

6084 GWh/year is currently used in the existing hydropower plants (49% of the total water potential).

The most suitable locations for the development of hydropower plants have already been largely used.

For further development of hydropower can be mostly used the remaining sites in the valleys with a potential impact on the regime of surface water and groundwater.

Production of electric power

In the structure of the electric power system of the Republic of Croatia more than 50% of electric energy is imported, more than half of domestic output comes from hydropower plants

The construction of hydropower plants was very intensive in the second half of the 20th century until the early 1990s, when it was mostly stopped.

Priority was given to multifunctional systems for water regulation and water use.

A number of multipurpose reservoirs have been constructed in order to use for: flood protection, provision of water for water supply, production of electric energy, provision of water for irrigation, regulation of the low water regime, sport and recreation.

Hydropower currently in operation

In Croatia there are: 17 large hydropower plants (>10 MW) of storage and run-of-river type 15 small hydropower plants (0.5-10 MW) 4 mini (0.1-0.5 MW) and several micro hydropower plants (5-100 kW)

LARGE HYDROPOWERS (MORE THAN 10 MW)

Hydropower Accompanying accumulations

Year of construction

Average annual

production (GWh)

Installed capacity

(MW)

Installed flow

(m3/ s)

HE Varaždin Varaždin 1975 445 94 500 HE Čakovec Čakovec 1982 347 76 500 HE Dubrava Dubrava 1990 349 76 500 HE Gojak Sabljaci 1959/ 2006 189 55,5 57 HE Lešće Lešće 2010 98 55,5 122,7 HE Rijeka Valići 1968 87 36,8 21 HE Vinodol Lokvarka, Bajer, Potkoš,

Lepenica 1952 139 94,5 18,6

HE Sklope Kruščica 1970 85 22,5 45 HE Senj Kruščica, Gusić polje 1965 972 216 60 RHE Velebit Razovac, Štikada 1984 357 276/ 240 60/ 40 HE Miljacka Brljan 1906/ 1956 112 24 30 HE Peruča Peruča 1960 120 60 120 HE Orlovac Buško blato, Lipa

Mandak 1973 360 237 70

HE Đale Đale 1989 128 40,8 220 HE Kraljevac Prančevići 1912 55 46,4 55 HE Zakučac Prančevići 1961/ 1980 1448 486 220 HE Dubrovnik Grančarevo, Gorica 1965 660 za RH

660 za BiH 216

(108 RH) 90

Total 5951 2005

General information

The biggest reservoirs are:Peruča - the Cetina River (571*106m3) Kruščica - the Lika River (142*106m3)

HE Zakučac - the largest hydropower plant which delivers a third of total hydropower in Croatia.

HE Jaruga under waterfall on the Krka River is the second oldest hydropower plant in the world and the first one constructed in Europe.

HE Velebit - only pumping hydropower plant in Croatia.

The operation of certain hydropower plants is directly related to transboundary waters: HE Dubrovnik uses the water from the Bileća reservoir, HE Orlovac uses the water from the Buško blato, Mandak and Lipa reservoirs on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Large and some of the small hydropower plants

Planned constuction

Construction foreseen in the near future:HE Podsused (43 MW) - the Sava

RiverHE Kosinj (28 MW) - the Lika RiverHE Novo Virje (138 MW) - the Drava

R.HE Ombla (68.5 MW) - the Ombla R. HE Dubrovnik 2 (300 MW) – water from the Bileća reservoir

The reconstruction of the existing hydropower plants will also contribute to an increase in capacity.

Croatia has set a goal of constructing a number of small hydropower plants (less than 5 MW) on 6 watercourses.

18 selected locations for the construction of small hydropower

Energy Development Strategy, 2009 (Official Gazette 130/2009)

The Energy Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia addresses the period until the year 2020 and pursues three basic energy-related

objectives:

Safe energy supply; Competitive energy system; Sustainable energy development.

The newly installed capacities in 2020 will be 300 MW (including also HE Lešće put into operation in 2010, but excluding small hydropower plants as these are balanced in renewable energy).

It is assumed that in the period 2015-2020 the capacity will increase by 50 MW each year.

No additional increase in hydropower capacity is foreseen after the year 2020.

Environmental aspects of construction of hydropower plants

Significant impact on hydromorphological and ecological status of water, nature, cultural and historical heritage, forests, land, etc.

With regard to the border and across border character of a great number of Croatian rivers, the process of planning and implementation of projects requires coordination with other countries.

Significant impact on downstream flow (deepening of the original river bed, reducing sediment transport, erosion activate processes on the banks, lowering of the groundwater, etc.)

Thank you for your attention!