A Croatian oil factory switched on 3.5 MW of solar and a 4.5 MW / 9 MWh battery - self-use first, surplus into the box
Zito Group's oil plant at Cepin commissioned a 3.5 MW solar array with a 4.5 MW / 9 MWh battery for EUR 3.85 million, co-financed from the EU Recovery plan. Expected output 5,500 MWh a year against factory use above 10,130 MWh. Self-use first; surplus into the box.
A Croatian oil factory just did the workplace move the Croatia desk is supposed to cover: panels on site, a battery beside them, and the meter comes first.
On 16 September 2026, tportal (via Hina) reported that Zito Group commissioned a 3.5 MW solar plant at Tvornica ulja Cepin, with a battery rated 4.5 MW / 9 MWh. Project name TUC 2. Total investment EUR 3.85 million. Co-financed from EU Recovery and Resilience money through the programme supporting companies' shift to an energy- and resource-efficient economy. Trial operation started at the end of August.
The tportal numbers that matter on site: 7,050 PV modules; expected annual production 5,500 MWh; factory annual consumption over 10,130 MWh. Power goes to own needs first; surplus goes into the battery. An earlier plant on the same site started in 2023. Together, management says the two plants will cover more than 60% of the factory's electricity use. Karlo Dudas, board president of the oil factory, said the new plant is larger than the previous one and that the pair will cut grid dependence and energy cost.
By our arithmetic, 9 MWh at 4.5 MW is two hours at full power. That duration is division on this desk - not a figure quoted in the tportal piece.
Think of it as the factory growing a second wheat field next to the mill, then building a silo. Grain feeds the mill first. Extra grain goes in the silo for the night shift. It does not pretend the mill runs on sunshine at 2 a.m. without the silo.
Good: dated, attributed megawatts, megawatt-hours, and euros from the company via Hina. Clear self-use then store-surplus design. Recovery co-finance named so boards can ask their own grant advisers about the same programme window.
Bad: "more than 60%" is management's claim for both plants combined. The article does not publish a metered before/after bill. No tariff, no payback, and no grant percentage sit on the tportal page.
Ugly: two hours of full-power storage does not make a 24-hour oil plant. Anyone spinning this as an off-grid factory has not read the megawatt-hours.
If a Croatia site brief asks how Recovery co-finance stacks beside a self-use hybrid, start with the meter and the store-surplus rule - then a short note at Sovryn Energy /consult if you want that shape checked against your load.
Source: tportal / Hina, 16 Sep 2026 - Nova investicija Zito grupe: U Cepinu pustena u rad solarna elektrana snage 3,5 MW. Numbers restated from that page only. 2-hour duration is desk arithmetic (9 / 4.5), not a quoted figure. No site payback or grant % on that page.