Generating electricity from wind power

Investment in wind farms is booming in Europe, with an average annual growth rate of 30% over the last five years. 

In addition to the falling costs of wind farms, wind-generated electricity has a low environmental impact. Additional benefits include the creation of new jobs and the price of electricity is lower or more competitive than other sources, with positive effects on the economy.

Wind farms make the most sense for areas with constant winds above 5 m/s. The potential of wind is not negligible in the geographical area of our region, especially in Croatia, which has a very clear renewable energy strategy and a relevant legislative framework. Thanks to advanced technology, turbines with larger rotor diameters (>140 m) can be used in areas where we have slightly lower average wind speeds.

Before a wind farm project can be implemented, sophisticated environmental impact studies and bird monitoring, average wind speed measurements and wind characteristics analysis must be carried out. The complexity of the terrain and the availability of other infrastructure, which must be able to transport the equipment and connect it to the electricity grid, are also key factors in the design of a wind farm.

The design is followed by the construction of the foundations, transport of components, assembly and commissioning of the wind farm.

We develop and implement wind energy solutions primarily as an investor and partner in project development, where cooperation with local businesses and the environment is key. The Ljubač Wind Park is the first Petrol wind energy project to be implemented without financial support or subsidies. 

For larger projects, we also use the Upstream Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) model, which is a power purchase agreement that ensures long-term security of electricity supply and predictable costs.

The electric vehicles you charge at Petrol’s e-charging network are charged with electricity from a renewable energy source – wind. For this purpose, Petrol has leased the relevant certificates of origin for energy from wind farms, including our own wind farms in Ljubač and Glunča.

Energy self-sufficiency can also be achieved through a combination of different sources of electricity generation, preferably from renewable sources (wind, solar, hydro). Energy storage will play a key role in the future. 

At Petrol, we help towns and villages that want to ensure the reliability and security of their energy supply by designing, building and operating small and large-scale solar power plants for self-supply, and we can also integrate smaller wind turbines, batteries and charging infrastructure into a single management system, as we have done effectively in the village of Luče.