Released October 21, 2025 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Slovenia's state-owned energy company, Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE) (Ljubljana), is forging ahead with plans to build one of Europe's largest floating solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.
Spatial planning activities are underway for the Družmirje floating solar power plant, which will have a capacity of 140 megawatts (MW), enough to power roughly 35,000 Slovenian households annually. Located on Lake Družmirje near a former coal mine in the coal-mining Savinjsko-Šaleška (SAŠA) region, the project will cover half of the lake's surface with 390,000 PV panels mounted on high-density polyethylene floating structure to provide renewable energy to the grid. It is expected to cost more than US$80 million to develop.
The project will be almost double the size of Europe's current largest operational floating solar PV plant, the 74-MW Îlots Blandin facility in Perthes, Haute-Marne, France. Situated on a 127-hectare site of former gravel pits, it officially began operations in June this year. Industrial Info is tracking a growing number of floating solar projects in Europe. There are now more than 70 in the pipeline worth more than US$2.1 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
Simon Čižmek, PSE Družmirje project manager, said: "PSE Družmirje will occupy up to half of the available surface area of the lake. It is estimated that it will generate up to 140 GWh of electricity per year. The Municipality of Šoštanj, with which we have been in regular communication throughout the project planning, will receive a portion of the energy from PSE Družmirje at its cost price and will be able to manage it independently. I can confidently say that a floating solar power plant is one of the cleanest and most efficient ways to harness solar energy for electricity production, a fact that is also recognized internationally."
Such power plants are installed in many European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, France, Albania and elsewhere.
Miha Pečovnik, executive director of development and investment at HSE, added that the Družmirje project is a key one for the company and that it is also focusing a lot of attention on electricity storage at the location. Work is planned to begin in the third quarter of next year with first power scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
Europe's largest planned floating solar project, Hollandse Kust Zuid, is located in the sea off the Dutch coast and will be marginally larger than the Družmirje project at 150 MW. It will boast 200,000 PV panels and is being developed by Oceans of Energy (Sassenheim, Netherlands) and a host of European partners. The goal is to locate the project within existing offshore windfarms to maximize space. In recent weeks, Oceans of Energy and CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell plc (London, England) and Eneco (Rotterdam, Netherlands), commissioned a 0.5-MW pilot project, Nymphaea Aurora, located within the 759-MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore windfarm, 18.5 kilometers from the coast. The project is the world's first offshore solar site within an offshore windfarm.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Spatial planning activities are underway for the Družmirje floating solar power plant, which will have a capacity of 140 megawatts (MW), enough to power roughly 35,000 Slovenian households annually. Located on Lake Družmirje near a former coal mine in the coal-mining Savinjsko-Šaleška (SAŠA) region, the project will cover half of the lake's surface with 390,000 PV panels mounted on high-density polyethylene floating structure to provide renewable energy to the grid. It is expected to cost more than US$80 million to develop.
The project will be almost double the size of Europe's current largest operational floating solar PV plant, the 74-MW Îlots Blandin facility in Perthes, Haute-Marne, France. Situated on a 127-hectare site of former gravel pits, it officially began operations in June this year. Industrial Info is tracking a growing number of floating solar projects in Europe. There are now more than 70 in the pipeline worth more than US$2.1 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
Simon Čižmek, PSE Družmirje project manager, said: "PSE Družmirje will occupy up to half of the available surface area of the lake. It is estimated that it will generate up to 140 GWh of electricity per year. The Municipality of Šoštanj, with which we have been in regular communication throughout the project planning, will receive a portion of the energy from PSE Družmirje at its cost price and will be able to manage it independently. I can confidently say that a floating solar power plant is one of the cleanest and most efficient ways to harness solar energy for electricity production, a fact that is also recognized internationally."
Such power plants are installed in many European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, France, Albania and elsewhere.
Miha Pečovnik, executive director of development and investment at HSE, added that the Družmirje project is a key one for the company and that it is also focusing a lot of attention on electricity storage at the location. Work is planned to begin in the third quarter of next year with first power scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
Europe's largest planned floating solar project, Hollandse Kust Zuid, is located in the sea off the Dutch coast and will be marginally larger than the Družmirje project at 150 MW. It will boast 200,000 PV panels and is being developed by Oceans of Energy (Sassenheim, Netherlands) and a host of European partners. The goal is to locate the project within existing offshore windfarms to maximize space. In recent weeks, Oceans of Energy and CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell plc (London, England) and Eneco (Rotterdam, Netherlands), commissioned a 0.5-MW pilot project, Nymphaea Aurora, located within the 759-MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore windfarm, 18.5 kilometers from the coast. The project is the world's first offshore solar site within an offshore windfarm.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
