{"id":373061,"date":"2022-05-11T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=373061"},"modified":"2022-05-11T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T04:30:00","slug":"participation-and-ideas-made-slovak-upper-nitra-start-its-post-coal-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/participation-and-ideas-made-slovak-upper-nitra-start-its-post-coal-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Participation and ideas made Slovak Upper Nitra start its post-coal era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Read more about the countries in this project<\/span><\/a><\/div>
More about Slovakia<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Along the upper course of river Nitra, in the western part of Slovakia, there are the largest coal reserves in the country. Here – in the Tren\u010d\u00edn region – are located three of the main lignite mines that powered the country in the last century, heating approximately 13.000 houses in the region. Extraction activities started to decrease in the 90s. The region differentiated its economy, betting on tourism – the renowned Bojnice castle is just a few kilometers away from the mines – while other industries employ thousands of people in the area. What is the post-coal era going to look like in the Upper Nitra region? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within its Recovery and Resilience Plan, Slovakia reaffirms that it will stop supporting brown coal combustion at the Novaky power plant<\/a> – the main of the region –  while also restating that the region will undergo a transformation. The plant is expected to be dismissed by 2023, as it won’t receive any subsidy anymore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the changeover started more than five years ago. Back then, local authorities and citizens started asking to think about a future without the coal industry. Upper Nitra lignite mining areas, fuel the nearby power plant producing electricity. All three mining areas are owned by Hornonitrianske bane Prievidza<\/a><\/em> – HBP – a private mining company – while Slovenske elektr\u00e1rne<\/a><\/em> – an electricity firm- operates them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cAt the beginning, talking about the future of the region was a taboo topic. In 2017 we started thinking about what could be next, but not necessarily about closing the mining sites\u201d told innovation Origins Alojz Vl\u010dko, head of Prievidza mayor’s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n