Croatia’s expanding wind and solar generation is bringing more volatility to the power market and increasing the commercial relevance of batteries. AdriaFlex is seeking partners for a 170 MW portfolio of standalone battery projects across three sites.
The developer is also building an early-stage battery energy storage system pipeline of around 200 MW. It is targeting ready-to-build status for its projects in the fourth quarter of 2028.
Croatia recorded about 220 hours of negative electricity prices in the first half of 2026, while wind and solar accounted for 44% of installed capacity. Negative prices indicate that generation is arriving faster than the power system can shift or absorb it.
A separate development by wpd combines storage with wind generation. The developer plans to repower Croatia’s Trtar Krtolin wind farm, increasing capacity from 11.2 MW to as much as 30 MW with fewer, larger turbines. Annual output is expected to rise from around 30 GWh to about 55 GWh.
The plan also includes a 10 MW battery, shifting the project from a generation-only asset to a hybrid intended to focus on market value as well as output.
Croatia is an early Southeast European example of storage economics moving from reliance on policy support toward merchant optimisation. The commercial question is how quickly batteries can earn revenue from intraday spreads, charging during negative-price periods, balancing and congestion before competition compresses returns.
Storage revenues are expected to depend increasingly on combining arbitrage, balancing and grid services, rather than relying on a single contracted income stream.