Abstract
The Republic of Croatia has an area of 87,661 km2, with 56,594 km2 of land surface. The territory is organised into 21 counties. Due to specific geographical position between several biogeographic regions and diverse ecological, climatic and geomorphological conditions, Croatia is one of the richest European countries in terms of biodiversity. There is an increasing trend towards shifting away from conventional energy production forms to new renewable energy sources (RES), due to the current energy crisis, environment pollution and climate change issues. However, controversial issues have arisen with regard to impact of RES on biodiversity. Energy Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia sets out the goal to reach 9 to 10% of wind generated electricity in overall electricity consumption by 2020, with the estimated installed power of 1,200 MW. At present, wind farms in Croatia produce 87,8 MW of energy. But the increasing number of wind farms presents a potential threat to biodiversity, especially to certain bird species and bats.