Solar energy for a brighter future of rural Croatia

In the remote village Lisine in the Karlovac County, Nedjeljka and her daughter Anka live in very difficult conditions and without electricity. They raise sheep and goats for living and produce cheese. In the summer, the cheese goes bad in a day or two because they don’t have a refrigerator, and during the winter when the snow falls above the knees, they are cut off from everything. The only electrical appliance that they have is a small light bulb that they use only for a few minutes a day, and which is powered from an old car battery.

Even though in the 21st century electricity is taken for granted, and it can be considered as one of the basic living conditions, accordingly to the Register for the sanitation of the electricity distribution network in 2009, there is around 500 households in Croatia without electricity. According to the data from the Register created by the United Nations Development Programme, and which is still being updated, there are more than 50 permanently inhabited households without electricity in Croatia.

During 2 years of the project our team managed the project, supported the communities and installed 46 solar PV systems, or 73 kW, or 304 solar panels with over 11 tons of batteries. At the moment there are almost no more households in Croatia that permanently live in remote areas without access to electricity.