HEP Plans 160 MW Reversible Hydropower Plant Vinodol
Ministry Publishes Environmental Impact Assessment Request, Public Consultation to Last at Least 30 Days
Ministry Publishes Environmental Impact Assessment Request, Public Consultation to Last at Least 30 Days
The request for an environmental impact assessment, submitted by Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP) for the planned pumped-storage hydropower plant Vinodol, has been published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition. The project, with an installed capacity of 160 megawatts, would be built in the Vinodol Municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, as reported by Tportal, citing Lider.
The Ministry initiated the procedure because, according to the Regulation on Environmental Impact Assessment, this is a project that exceeds the 100 MW threshold for power plants and facilities, and the decision to conduct the assessment was issued on August 11, 2026.
The system would operate on the classic principle of pumped energy storage, with two storage reservoirs connected by tunnels and pipelines. In the Vinodol Valley, at an altitude of approximately 60 meters, the lower reservoir Tribalj already exists, covering an area of about 41 hectares.
The upper reservoir Razromir, which would be built in the Koreni Valley on the slopes of Mount Medvedak, is planned at an altitude of about 800 meters. It would cover 24 hectares with a total volume of 2.1 million cubic meters. Daily water consumption during operation would amount to about 650,000 cubic meters.
When energy is cheaper or there is a surplus from the grid, one million cubic meters of water would be pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir, and during peak consumption hours, this water would be released through turbines and converted back into electricity. The design flow for turbine operation is 24 cubic meters per second, while for pumping it is 18 cubic meters per second.
The facility could operate daily in a cycle of 10 to 10.5 hours of pumping and seven and a half to eight hours of generation. The underground powerhouse would house two Francis turbine units, and the project already includes the possibility of converting the reversible plant into a conventional pumped-storage hydropower plant with Pelton turbines in a later phase.
Connection to the power grid is planned via the existing 110 kV line, with the installation of its own switchgear.
The environmental impact study was prepared in April 2026 by the authorized company Elektroprojekt from Zagreb. The Ministry now plans a public consultation that will last at least 30 days, during which public access to the study and a public presentation of the project will be organized.
The process involves institutions responsible for nature, water, spatial planning, forests, and cultural heritage, as well as the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Vinodol Municipality as local authorities. The notice of the exact date of the public consultation will be published later on the Ministry's website.
