More than half of Croatian citizens expect that, in 20 years\u2019 time, as much as one quarter of electricity will be produced through energy communities, while one in five expects even more than that. Citizens, therefore, do not see energy communities as an experiment, but as an integral part of the future energy system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost three quarters of citizens are willing to participate in joint energy production, for example through a shared solar power plant on a rooftop. But under clear conditions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citizens want to take part, but they do not want a bureaucratic maze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A large majority of citizens are willing to invest and become part of a community that builds renewable power plants, in return for a share of the revenue from selling energy or direct savings on their electricity bills. Their primary motivation is potential economic benefit, savings and energy independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For most citizens, citizen energy is not an ideological issue \u2014 it is a rational decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citizens want lower bills, greater control over their energy and a safer future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citizens clearly recognise the role of the public sector in the development of energy communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The message is clear: the problem is not the citizens \u2014 it is the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The results also fit into the broader picture shown by the 2025 EU Barometer survey on climate change:<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a high level of awareness, but a lack of clear and accessible support, reliable information and education at all levels. This was also highlighted during the panel discussion that reflected on the key findings of the survey, presented on 27 April in Zagreb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The panel included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Du\u0161ica Radoj\u010di\u0107, Member of Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Goran Kraja\u010di\u0107, Full Professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marija Hanzec, Head of Communications and Market Analysis at the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia association<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enes \u0106erimagi\u0107, programme lead for public and common goods, lawyer and Vice-President of Zelena akcija<\/p>\n\n\n\n The discussion was moderated by Goran \u010ca\u010di\u0107, expert in sustainable energy and citizen energy at the Green Energy Cooperative, and coordinator of the Energy Communities Forum in Croatia, which brings together 22 citizen energy initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The panellists discussed which survey results they considered most important, what kind of energy communities they themselves would be willing to join, and what is needed \u2014 legislatively, institutionally and in terms of structured support \u2014 to significantly accelerate citizen energy projects in Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside the need to remove administrative barriers, the panellists agreed that there must be more trust \u2014 both among citizens and towards institutions \u2014 as well as much more knowledge and visibility of the topic of citizen energy, not only among the general public, but also at the political level and in the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All details of the survey and insights from discussions with representatives of citizen energy initiatives are available in our new publication: Together at Full Power \u2013 Contributions to the Analysis of the Potential for the Development of Energy Communities in the Republic of Croatia<\/em>.<\/a> (Croatian version)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Energy communities are not only a tool for reducing emissions. They are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Croatia, they are currently standing still. Not because citizens do not want to participate, but because the institutional framework still does not reflect their needs and readiness. It is time for the system to catch up and provide adequate support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahead of us is the new Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union for the period 2028\u20132034, which introduces a new instrument \u2014 the National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a key mechanism through which the development of Member States will be financed. It accounts for as much as 44% of the total EU budget, with the total value of the plans amounting to EUR 865 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through the NRPPs, Member States will define reforms and investments in key sectors, including energy, cohesion and agriculture. This is precisely why this is an important opportunity to systematically include energy communities in financial and development plans, and to enable Croatian citizens to actively participate in the energy transition \u2014 because they want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The survey was conducted by the agency KARIKA koja nedostaje d.o.o. for the commissioning partners of the project Accelerating Energy Communities in Croatia<\/em>, co-financed by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and the European Climate Foundation (ECF).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Did you know that, according to the goals of the European Solar Energy Strategy, Croatia should already have at least 80 renewable energy communities \u2014 one in every town with more than 10,000 inhabitants? And do you know how many we currently have? One, and it is still in the process of registration. We also … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-article"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10133"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10136,"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10133\/revisions\/10136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dizajn-bez-naslova-1-2-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n71% of citizens want to produce energy together with their neighbours<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nKey motivation: savings and energy independence<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zez.coop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-6.jpeg\")
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Citizens expect support from the state, and do not believe anything will happen without it<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe broader context: citizens want climate action<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Croatia does not have a problem with interest \u2014 it has a problem with implementation<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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