German wind energy developer WPD Windmanager has taken over operational management of wind farm Jasenice in Croatia from an electric utility company KELAG.

The wind farm, which is located 40km northeast of Zadar, Croatia, is owned by KELAG.

Under the contract, the Bremen based company will be responsible for the operational management of five Enercon E-70 turbines, which has a total capacity of 11.5MW.

As of 1 July 2019, WPD is responsible for the technical management as well as for the administrative coordination and the reporting obligations for the wind farm Jasenice.

Jasenice wind farm managing director David Huber said: “For our newly erected wind farm Jasenice we were looking for an operational manager, which has an extensive knowledge about the requirements of the Croatian market and has a huge network of turbine manufacturers, service providers, and authorities on site.

“wpd windmanager has already been active here for many years and thus enables us to have an excellent entry into the Croatian market.”

The closeness of the wind farm to the technical management site is expected to facilitate the cooperation.

WPD Windmanager Croatia managing director Marijana Baricevic said: “From the location of our technical managers in Šibenik it is only 90 kilometers to the wind farm in Jasenice.

“Our colleagues can easily reach the wind farm within an hour and can thus be on site at any time.”

WPD Windmanager is a major player in Croatian wind market

With 103.3MW in operational management, the company is one of the major players in the Croatian wind market, which currently a total capacity of around 587.5MW.

WPD Windmanager sales director Till Schorer said: “After years with relatively few installations of new wind farms, the Croatian market is on the upswing again.

“Thus we are really looking forward to the cooperation with KELAG. With our locations in Dubrovnik and Šibenik we are in an excellent position – both professionally and geographically – and we are eager to extend our presence here.”

In June, WPD achieved financial close for the development of the 640MW Yunlin offshore wind farm in Taiwan.

To be located 8km off the Taiwanese west coast, the Yunlin project will be powered by 80 of Siemens Gamesa’s 8MW turbines. The project is expected to be completed in December of 2021.