Slovenia attaches great importance to renewable energy, which currently accounts for around 8% of the country’s total energy consumption. The share of renewable energy is expected to increase even more now that the European Union has set its sights on a 20% renewable energy target by 2020. At present, Slovenia’s renewable energy comes almost exclusively from hydroelectric power plants. The pilot project will also demonstrate the potential of other renewable energy sources.
The total project costs stand at CHF 5.3 million. The municipalities concerned will pay CHF 1.6 million (30%) of these costs and the project will be managed, coordinated and implemented by Goriška Lokalna Energetska Agencija. Founded under the EU’s “Intelligent Energy Europe” programme in 2006, this non-profit organisation is committed to promoting energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources.
The Slovenian project is comprised of three sub-projects: a 600-metre long noise barrier equipped with solar panels in Šempeter Vrtojba, a Primorska-region municipality located along the motorway between Slovenia and Italy; the introduction of biomass as a renewable energy source in twenty selected public buildings (schools, kindergartens and two information centres in Triglav National Park), which should reduce the energy costs in these buildings by around 40%; and a public awareness campaign explaining the forward-looking nature of the project.