Maribor - Dravske Elektrarne Maribor (DEM) will launch next week construction of a new solar power plant adjacent to the Zlatoličje Hydro Power Plant, some 20 kilometres south-east of Maribor. Almost 6,000 photovoltaic modules are planned to be installed, with total rated output of 2.7 MWp expected to produce 3,000 MWh of electricity annually.

The hydro power plant operator said on Wednesday that segment five of the Zlatoličje Solar Power Plant would be installed on the left bank of the outlet canal of the largest Slovenian hydro power plant, operated on the Drava river.

The project worth more than EUR 2 million will provide the Zlatoličje Hydro Power Plant with added value, and "Slovenia will get additional gigawatts of electricity from a renewable source," the company added.

The segment will stretch from the bridge across the canal to the Slovenja Vas kart racing track for a total of 905 metres.

Almost 6,000 photovoltaic modules with the total rated power of almost 2.7 MWp and planned annual production of around 3,000 MWh will be installed on what is currently an unutilised bank of the outlet canal.

"Considering that the inclination of the terrain at certain places exceeds 30 degrees, the construction ... will be a major challenge and will require caution, also due to the proximity of the canal, where water discharge reaches up to 550 m3/s."

A special feature of the new power plant will be a central inverter with a medium voltage substation housed in a container.

Segment five of the Zlatoličje Solar Power Plant is part of a larger, emerging solar power plant with a total rated power of around 30 MWp and planned annual production of more than 37,000 MWh.

It will be constructed on the inlet and outlet canals of the Zlatoličje and Formin hydro power plants in the coming years.

DEM, which operates eight large hydro power plants on the Drava, said it continued to explore other suitable locations for solar power plants and first wind farms in Slovenia, as well as the first pilot geothermal power plant.