Slovenian state-owned electricity producer Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE) plans to invest 2 billion euros in the expansion of renewable energy production capacity by 2033, CEO Tomaž Stokelj said.
The HSE examined about 50 possible locations for the construction of new photovoltaic power plants with a total capacity of 400 MWp, including additional capacities at the Prapretno solar power plant and near the Zlatolicje hydroelectric power plant, as well as the floating solar power plant on Lake Šoštanj, Stokelj said in a video posted on the YouTube channel of private television Cannon.
The Slovenian electricity producer is also considering the reconstruction of the Formin hydroelectric power plant and the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Sava, while wind farms will be built in Ojstrica, Paško Kozjak and near Rogatac.
HSE is testing the use of large amounts of biomass at block 6 of the coal-fired thermal power plant Šoštanj, because biomass without the need for further investments could provide 5 to 6 percent of the required fuel, and if invested, up to 10 percent, Stokelj added.
Slovenia’s state-owned electricity producer expects to start work on the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley, a transnational project to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen technologies, in the second half of 2023, it announced last month.
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership, a public-private partnership that supports research and innovation activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe, announced in February that the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project is in negotiations with the European Commission for a €25 million grant.