The mayor of the Municipality of Šoštanj, Boris Goličnik, and the director of the company ECE d.o.o., mag. Sebastijan Roudi, today signed a contract for the construction of solar power plants on four public buildings in Šoštanj. For this project, the Municipality of Šoštanj obtained just over EUR 450,000 in grants from the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

 

Approximately 0.5 MW in new solar power plants will be installed in Šoštanj at four locations – on the gym of the Karel Destovnik-Kajuh elementary school, the music school, the community healthcare centre and the Pilon Center building.

The total cost of the investment, which will be carried out by the company ECE d.o.o., which was selected in a public tender, is approximately half a million euros (EUR 998/kW including VAT). In addition to the construction of the solar power plants, the public contract also includes five-year maintenance of the facilities, takeover of surplus and covering for deficit electricity, and managing the energy community that will include more than 15 public buildings once the power plants have been constructed.

“With today’s signing of the contract, we in Šoštanj continue to realise the municipality’s vision of energy self-sufficiency. The first set of solar power plants on our public buildings was launched some time ago, and the results are very encouraging. These buildings today cover a significant portion of their consumption with their own electricity, thereby reducing operating costs. We are further expanding our story with the four new power plants. We will produce an additional 500 MWh of clean energy annually, which will bring additional savings and, above all, a higher level of energy independence. This is an investment in the future, in the green transition and in the lasting benefit of our community. I am particularly proud that numerous public buildings will be included in the energy community, which will expand the impact of the project and consolidate the long-term benefits for our municipality”, said Mayor Boris Goličnik upon the signing the contract.

The director of the company ECE d.o.o., mag. Sebastijan Roudi, said that the installation and management of self-sufficient communities is an upgrade of the company’s self-sufficiency projects carried out so far: “The installation and management of self-sufficient communities is an upgrade of our self-sufficiency projects carried out so far. In addition to the installation of power plants, it includes coverage for deficits and purchase of surpluses, as well as long-term care for the power plants of the members of the self-sufficient community. As part of the HSE Group, we place great emphasis on complex energy projects, develop new billing models and look for ways to accelerate the green transition.”

The installation of the solar power plants will begin in October, and the contractual deadline for the completion of the project is 31 December 2025. With the new power plants, the Municipality of Šoštanj will significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy sources in public buildings, reduce operating costs and improve energy self-sufficiency. Once the project has been completed, the proportion of electricity produced using its own renewable sources in the total electricity consumption in public buildings in the Municipality of Šoštanj will increase to approximately 70%.

The project will bring around 500 MWh of clean electricity annually and enable approximately EUR 70,000 in savings on electricity costs, with total savings estimated at around EUR 2 million over the entire lifetime of the facilities.

ECE signed a similar contract on Friday, 19 September 2025, with the Urban Municipality of Celje, where it will install solar power plants on eleven public buildings.