Energy Transition between Promises and Realities - A View from the European Semi-periphery

Croatia, like some other EU countries, is poor with fossil fuels while at the same time has a significant renewable energy potential that is not sufficiently utilized.The current total energy import is around 50% of overall energy needs, and there is an increase in the share of renewables.In the electricity sector, an increase is happening due to investments in wind energy in the last decade, however, the largest share relates to the production from big hydropower plants stemming from the second half of the 20th century.Considering that Croatia's coastal region is positioned in the Mediterranean, the major potential for renewable solar energy is obvious.The current share of solar energy represents only 1% of current electricity production and is one of the lowest in the EU.Citizens' energy initiatives seem to be an important factor in intensifying the overall process of solarization, thus contributing to speeding up the process Sociologija i prostor, 61 (2023) 228 (3): 437-463 438S o c i o l o g i j a i p r o s t o r of energy transition.However, Croatia, like some other EU countries, has major social and legislative barriers to achieving this.In the article, we will present the multidimensionality of these obstacles by exploring energy inequalities in society (i.e.energy poverty issues), regional differences in citizens' participation in the solarization processes, and the socio-technical barriers.We will also examine the potential of citizens' engagement in energy transition.The data used for the analyses were collected as part of the ESF project "METER to a better climate".