An advisory commission of experts which assessed the impact on the environment of a reconstruction of the Plomin thermoelectric power plant on Thursday gave a positive opinion of the project, the Environment and Nature Protection Ministry said in a statement.
The commission adopted a conclusion saying that the project should be labelled as the replacement of the existing bloc 1 with the new bloc C given the complexity of the facility and that it did not constitute the construction of a new thermoelectric power plant.
The statement said all the requests made by the commission, comprising the highest environmental protection standards during the construction and after the launching of bloc C, had been incorporated into the environmental protection measures.
After the launch, the public will have access to information on air quality in the area on the websites of the ministry and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The investor, the power utility company HEP, apart from respecting high water and sea protection standards, will have the obligation to measure changes in the sea temperature and inform the public for three years after the launch of bloc C.
Based on those measures, the advisory commission gave a positive opinion on the project by majority vote.
Under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, Slovenia still has to deliver a final opinion on the compatibility of the project for the environment, after which the ministry can issue a decision on combined environmental protection terms for the project.
The Green Action criticised the commission's positive opinion as well as the government.
