Slovenia drafting zoning plans for eight wind farms

The Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning is working on national zoning plans for eight wind farms as part of efforts to increase the share of energy produced from renewable sources, in line with Slovenia’s energy policy and climate goals, local media reported, citing STA.

Despite its considerable wind potential, Slovenia currently has only two wind turbines. However, this may soon change if investors and environmentalists find common ground on the wind farms for which the zoning plans are being prepared, the reports noted.

All the planned wind farms will have an installed capacity of at least 10 MW, the ministry said. The wind farms are to be located at Senožeška Brda, Zajčica and Dolenja Vas in the west, and in Mislinja, Paški Kozjak, Ojstrica, Rogatec and Plešivec in the east of the country.

Two planned wind farms already face opposition by locals

The ministry is working on the national zoning plans in collaboration with investors and the public, but it has told STA that the procedures are still in their early stages, so it is hard to say how long it will take before the first of the planned wind farms is built.

The ministry also said that two planned projects, Ojstrica and Zajčiča, have been met by strong opposition by locals, due to wind farms’ potential impact on public health and the environment, according to the reports.

According to previous reports, the production of electricity from wind in Slovenia amounted to a mere 6 GWh in 2018, compared with 249.6 GWh generated by the country’s solar power plants, 125 GWh by biomass plants, and 112.3 GWh by biogas plants.