Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and CEO of power producer Savske elektrarne Drago Polak on Wednesday symbolically launched the Vrhovo solar power plant and a mini hydro plant near Radece in central Slovenia.
Vizjak said that the Slovenian energy sector was capable of being among the pioneers in renewables, which have recently become not only environmentally but also commercially interesting.
But investing only in renewable sources of energy is not enough. "A lot of work in efficient energy use is ahead of us, and I believe this is more important than investment in new production sources," the minister said.
Polak meanwhile expressed the wish that the adopted energy policy would also reflect on the promotion, support and purchase prices of electricity and at the same time promote innovation and production of the necessary equipment in Slovenia, which will make renewable sources more competitive.
The solar plant has produced 11,300 kWh of electricity in the test phase since January, while the planned annual production is 74,600 kWh, enough for 22 households. The mini hydro plant will meanwhile produce 184,000 kWh of electricity a year, equivalent to the consumption of 54 households.
Photovoltaics is a fast-growing industry, as the production of electricity with solar power has recorded annual growth of 40% in the last five years. The number of solar plants in Slovenia has been doubling every year since 2005, but most are small installations.
According to Polak, the trend means that the total installed power of Slovenian solar plants will stand at 6.5 MW by 2010, with the annual production of over 6 GWh.
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