Beneath turning wind turbines, rows of solar panels can move as well. At Korlat in Croatia, one site harvests electricity in two different ways: the panels follow the sun while the turbines capture the wind.
The park is near Benkovac in Dalmatia. Owner HEP combines an existing wind farm with a 99-megawatt-peak solar plant. The appeal is practical: add generation where roads and electrical infrastructure already exist.
Panels that follow the sun
According to HEP’s project information, the solar site covers about 150 hectares. Its panels rotate around one axis, adjusting through the day to capture more sunlight than a single fixed angle would allow.
A tracker does not have to move in every direction. A controlled rotation can follow the sun’s daily progress more closely. Motors, moving parts and maintenance are the trade-off; the extra output must justify them.
Why both 99 and 75 megawatts?
The panels have a combined peak capacity of 99 MWp, measured under standard test conditions. The planned grid connection is 75 MW, describing the power that can be delivered through that connection.
Expected annual generation gives another useful measure. HEP estimates roughly 165 gigawatt-hours, or 165 million kilowatt-hours a year. That is energy over twelve months, not a constant output at every hour.
Sharing what is already there
The solar plant occupies part of the wind farm’s site. HEP identifies shared access and grid infrastructure as benefits. Each additional source does not have to begin with an entirely separate set of supporting facilities.
Sun and wind produce at different times. Combining them does not create an endlessly controllable power station, but it does give one location two ways to harvest energy. That is what makes the sight of panels among turbines so interesting.
