Support scope for rooftop solar, heat pumps and batteries
Croatia’s Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund has launched a €38 million support programme for household renewable-energy investment. The scheme adds residential battery storage to the eligible technology list for the first time. It covers rooftop solar installations intended for self-consumption.
The programme also includes heat pumps used for heating, cooling and domestic hot water. Battery systems are eligible where they allow households to retain surplus photovoltaic generation for later use.
Grant levels for standard and energy-poverty households
Standard applicants may receive grants covering up to 50% of eligible expenditure. Households classified as being at risk of energy poverty may qualify for support covering up to 70% of the investment. Individual grants for standard applicants are set to range from €6,000 to €17,850.
For vulnerable households, non-refundable support is expected to fall between €8,400 and €24,990. The structure is designed to extend beyond programmes limited solely to photovoltaic panels by also addressing heat demand and behind-the-meter flexibility.
Financing, eligibility timing and retroactive arrangements
The programme will be financed from revenues generated through the auctioning of greenhouse-gas emission allowances under Croatia’s proposed 2026–2030 spending plan. Only new investments are generally eligible under the scheme. Costs must be incurred after publication of the call.
Advance equipment payments and expenditure related to preparing HEP ODS metering points may qualify when paid on or after 1 January 2026. Projects fully paid before the programme was announced are excluded from support.
A separate retroactive mechanism is planned for households that installed and commissioned solar systems after the previous call closed but before the new programme opened. Eligible applicants under that arrangement will be able to recover up to 50% of project costs.
Operational factors linked to distribution connection processing
The addition of battery eligibility is intended to address timing differences between generation and demand within households. Croatia’s growing solar fleet increases midday production while household demand frequently peaks later in the day. Storage can raise self-consumption and reduce evening withdrawals from the distribution system.
The programme also targets behind-the-meter economics where exported electricity receives less value than power purchased from the network. Implementation is described as depending on distribution-connection processing, equipment availability and installer capacity. It will also depend on whether grant payments are made quickly enough to avoid excessive bridge-financing requirements on households.
