Construction of Slovenia’s long-delayed Mokrice hydropower plant could begin in late 2027 or early 2028, subject to permitting and possible legal challenges. The project would complete the chain of hydropower facilities on the lower Sava River. It is designed to generate electricity and provide flood protection.
Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Polona Rifelj has signed the documentation required for the government to consider the project. If approval proceeds, the ministry plans to complete the remaining administrative steps and issue a construction permit in the first half of 2027. The timetable is not assured.
The Slovenian Society for the Study of Fish could lodge another appeal, potentially sending the case back to the Administrative Court, which has already reviewed it twice. GEN Energija chief executive Andrej Vizjak has said further legal proceedings remain possible. He has maintained that the project design addresses the main environmental and technical concerns.
Project scope and remaining hurdles
Uncertainty is increasingly tied to the legal status of administrative decisions rather than fundamental engineering issues. A further court challenge would leave the proposed 2027-28 construction start conditional. Mokrice has been developed as a multipurpose facility.
The project combines power generation and flood protection with environmental measures intended to meet nature-conservation requirements and address the interests of surrounding communities. After years of delays, progress on government approvals and permitting could bring Mokrice closer to the investment stage. Completing the lower Sava cascade would add dispatchable renewable generation in Slovenia, where flexibility and system reliability are becoming increasingly important alongside the growth of variable renewable energy.
