Slovenia secures Swiss funds for solar, schools, smart energy

Slovenia will receive 16 million Swiss francs over ten years for sustainable energy projects as part of the Second Swiss Contribution, a package worth over a billion francs that Switzerland is allocating to countries that joined the EU in 2004.

Climate change will strongly impact on the Alpine space and "this is why Alpine countries need to collaborate and take action in this field", said Guy Parmelin, head of the Federal Swiss Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, as he signed an agreement on the contribution with Slovenian Regional Development Minister Aleksander Jevšek, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Some of the projects that will be supported include solar plants on farmland and the development of local energy communities. "This is a model of the future that Switzerland is pursuing for itself," he said.

The funds, topping €17 million at the current exchange rate, will be disbursed through open calls of the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy.

Of those funds, €2.2 million will go to agrivoltaics pilot projects. The first such project in Slovenia was launched at the end of 2024 by the Innovation-Development Institute at the University of Ljubljana and the Agriculture Institute of Slovenia.

Almost €12 million will go to set up energy communities for public secondary schools, education centres and universities. Fossil fuel boilers will be replaced with heating pumps to use shallow geothermal energy for heating, potentially in combination with solar plants.

For the digitalisation of local energy plans, which will make energy systems more effective, sustainable and interconnected, €1.8 million is earmarked.

The agrivoltaics and digitalisation of local energy concept projects are already ongoing and are expected to be completed in 2026. A call for applications for sustainable energy projects for schools is to be made available in 2026, the ministry said.

Parmelin also held discussions with Economy Minister Matjaž Han and Prime Minister Robert Golob, and visited pharma company Sandoz, whose parent company is based in Switzerland.

Han said the visit "affirms Slovenia's position as a country interesting for investments in high-tech industries".

Switzerland is Slovenia's second largest trading partner, largely on account of pharmaceuticals.

Both Han and Golob noted strong potential in other industries as well, for example in space technology.

The Second Swiss Contribution, worth nearly €1.2 billion, is designed to reduce gaps in economic and social development in the EU. Each country can pick one of several priority areas for financing.