Slovenia drafts decree to prevent opposition from local population to wind farms

The Ministry of Infrastructure has prepared a decree on the fee for the use of land for the installation of wind farms in order to pave the way for the investments and prevent opposition from the local population.

Slovenia has set in motion the procedures for the construction of its first wind farms in October 2019. So far, the government has approved national zoning plans for three projects – Ojstrica, Paški Kozjak, and Rogatec, with an installed capacity of 46 MW. The investor is state-owned power utility Dravske Elektrarne Maribor (DEM).

The Ministry of Infrastructure has launched public consultation on the decree

Now the Ministry of Infrastructure has published the draft decree and launched the public consultation on the document. The fee is envisaged by the law on the promotion of renewable energy sources adopted in 2021 and lays down in more detail the rules for the assessment and payment.

The charge must be paid by the producer of electricity from wind energy to the local authorities where the wind farm is, regardless of other public duties it is obliged to pay, the ministry said.

The fee will be calculated based on the annual income of the producer

According to the ministry, the purpose of the provision is to increase the social acceptability of wind farms and reduce the impact of the not-in-my-backyard phenomenon, which is when the local population opposes the construction of facilities such as wind farms.

The fee would be calculated based on the estimated annual income of the producer of electricity from wind farms. The rate is 3 percent, the draft decree reads.

The deadline to submit comments on the draft decree is February 4.