Hrastnik - The largest community solar power plant in the country will start operating in Hrastnik this year in what is the first time a Slovenian municipality will offer citizens an opportunity to join an energy cooperative. The investment, which will be completed in the summer, is estimated at EUR 235,000, the Hrastnik municipality said on Thursday.

The community solar farm will be built on the roof of the local primary school and will have a capacity of 300 kilowatts.

The way the investment will be financed involves an initial investment by the consumers involved of EUR 150 per kilowatt of capacity, which will cover around 20% of the investment. A further 20% will be covered by funds from the Infrastructure Ministry under an open call for relevant grants, and the remaining 60% will be covered by a loan.

The Hrastnik municipality will be the first municipality in Slovenia to offer its citizens the opportunity to join an energy cooperative. Later this month, the municipality will set up the Zeleni Hrast energy cooperative, a move that has already been cleared by the municipal councillors.

The cooperative will be an important link in promoting the use of renewable energy sources in Hrastnik, the municipality said.

Slovenia's first co-operative solar farm will offer citizens the possibility to generate their own electricity from the sun, even for those who do not have their own roof to put up a solar power plant.

The electricity generated by the solar farm will be net metered and deducted from the energy consumed by the consumers involved in the project. This will bring down their electricity bills in a way that contributes to the green transition, the municipality noted.

Over the first 15 years, their total electricity costs will be reduced by around 30%, and after this period the figure will be down by around 65% as the loan for the plant will have been repaid. The lifetime of such a power plant is expected to be 25-30 years.