The wind farm is planned to include a maximum of 40 wind turbines with a total output of up to 120 MW, with several substations to be built to feed power to the grid.

The private investment, funded by a company called Vepa, is valued at up to EUR 200m.

While the government go-ahead is crucial, Vepa director Aleš Musić cautioned that the project was still in an early phase.

"Neither the final number of turbines nor their precise location has been specified," he said in a press release.

There has been some opposition to the plan by locals, which has forced the investor to move the proposed site farther away from settlements.

Moreover, Musić said 3% of the annual revenue would be given to the local community, with one third each going to landowners, the Divača municipality and residents of the settlements close to the site.

Slovenia has significant wind power potential but so far only a single sizeable wind turbine has been completed.

Power utility Elektro Primorska wanted to build a massive wind farm at the Natura 2000-listed Volovja reber ten years ago, but its plans were thwarted by environmentalists after years of legal wrangles.