On Monday, 30th September 2024, we organised a technical excursion to Zlatoličje. The timing of the excursion was highly convenient, as it was just one day before the start of the academic year, meaning most students were already at the university but had free time since academic obligations began on 1st October. In short, a wonderful, sunny day for a 280-kilometre-long trip. Due to the content of the excursion, the event was attended mainly by students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana.
In Zlatoličje, we visited the largest hydroelectric power plant in Slovenia, along with its solar power plant. Both power plants are operated by Dravske elektrarne Maribor. The Zlatoličje Hydroelectric Power Plant can operate at a maximum capacity of 136 MW and generates 577 GWh of electricity annually. It is a canal-type hydroelectric plant. To serve its purpose, an artificial canal diverges from the Drava River in the city of Maribor, running for 17 kilometres to the Zlatoličje power plant. The outlet canal is 6 kilometres long and flows back into the Drava River.
In addition to the hydroelectric plant, there is a solar power plant with a capacity of 2.5 MW, which generates 3 GWh of electricity annually. There are plans to expand the existing solar power plant along the entire southern bank of the inlet canal, increasing the solar plant’s capacity to 28 MW, producing 34 GWh of electricity annually.
This article is also available in Slovenian at http://www.s3k.si/novice/strokovna-ekskurzija-v-zlatolicje/
