Ombla hydropower plant – design for use of groundwater energy in karst

Energetski potencijal površinskih vodotoka na krškom terenu dinarida, koji se u širokom pojasu proteže uz hrvatsku obalu, većim je dijelom iskorišten. Međutim, značajni dio voda koje se akumuliraju u krškom podzemlju ovog velikog prostora nije do danas adekvatno energetski vrednovan. Na osnovi rezultata opsežnih istraživanja izrađen je projekt HE Ombla čija je posebnost da su joj sve građevine smještene u podzemlju te da se koristi voda iz podzemne akumulacije, stvorene izgradnjom podzemne brane.The water power potential of surface watercourses in Dinaric karst areas, spreading in a wide belt along Croatian coast, has for the most part already been put to practical use. However, water power benefits of a significant quantity of water accumulated in the karst underground of this vast area have not so far been adequately exploited. Based on extensive research, the design has been prepared for the Ombla hydropower plant whose specific feature is that all its structures are buried underground, while the water would come from an underground water storage, to be created by construction of an underground dam