ZEZ Sun – Our energy

The campaign was running for 10 days in the beginning of the March 2023.

127 investors invested their own funds for installation of solar PV.

The investors are very diverse group of various organizations, SMEs and physical persons.

The project is located on public marketplace in the city of Križevci, Croatia.

Solar PV panels.

200 kW

The powerplant is built for selling the energy to the energy market with long term goal of energy sharing between its members.

The initiative involves the installation of the community owned solar power plant, ZEZ Sunce, on the roof of the City Market in Križevci is a groundbreaking project in Croatia spearheaded by the Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ). Supported by the city of Križevci, the cooperative KLIK, and with a significant contribution from citizens through member shares in the equity based cooperative, the project managed to secure the necessary funds for its first solar power plant, demonstrating a strong community drive towards renewable energy sources. The initiative underscores the potential of collective action and community funding in transitioning towards sustainable energy sources, while also offering financial returns to investors. The ZEZ Sun cooperative is the only one in Croatia that can by directive classify as energy community. It has been established as equity-based cooperative that develops and implements solar PV projects on national level with support of public bodies on public roofs (especially municipalities). The cooperative encountered numerous challenges in establishment process with court strikes stagnating the confirmation of foundation documentation for 6 months, additionally finding the suitable roof is significant difficulty as for the piloting the roof was owned by public entity that needed to adopt tendering procedure with citizen inclusion criteria. At current legislative level energy cooperative in spirit of EU directives is full energy community, but under Croatian law only associations can become energy communities further hindering growth of energy communities and provide the emergence of first sustainable business models. The vision for the future is clear: leveraging community involvement and innovative funding models to expand renewable energy projects, contributing to national energy independence, and fostering a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sector. The initiative in Križevci sets a valuable example for other cities and communities in Croatia and beyond, illustrating the significant impact of collective investment in renewable energy on achieving sustainability goals it is also regionally recognized and acts as beacon of community energy.