Renewable energy sources are the sources of the future. Hydropower is an important resource, but we have to keep in mind that the construction of a hydroelectric power plant has a certain environmental impact. Slovenia is still far from being self-sufficient in the field of the use of electrical energy and largely depends on imports. Our country has a great potential for renewable energy sources, but they are unfortunately underutilized, mainly for various bureaucratic reasons. One of the larger underutilized renewables is hydropower. River Sava is our longest river and is already being exploited for energy in the upper and lower part, but the middle is still neglected and currently underutilized. There is a plan of a construction of a chain of hydroelectric power plants in the middle Sava region. In my thesis, I economically examined the construction of the first three power plants in the chain, namely HPP Suhadol, HPP Trbovlje and HPP Renke. All three considered are of the flow-reservoir type. In the assignment, I financially evaluated the revenue from the sale of the electricity and included the expenses, related to the financing of the investment, and the operation itself. The investment shows positive economically measurable indicators and the internal rate of return exceeds the stipulated by the regulation as well. The thesis also includes a sensitivity analysis for the most important parameters. In any case, the investment is economically viable and necessary for ensuring energy independence, while fulfilling the promise of self-sufficiency. It is crucial to keep in mind that failure to deliver on the EU's promise to use renewable sources means paying penalties, which is certainly not insignificant.
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