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• |Slovak Republic
• |Energy Sources

Electricity

In the year 2007 the country's installed electric capacity amounted to 8.2. GW, of which 40 % are generated from thermal electricity production, 30 % from hydro and 29 % from nuclear power.

Nuclear Power Plants

The Slovak Republic has two Nuclear Power Plants - Jaslovevske Bohunice and Mochovce, Status 2008.

• Jaslovevske Bohunice is now operating three units (Bohunice 2,3, and 4) with a capacity of 408 MWe each. Bohunice 1 has been shut down in 2006, the reactor Bohunice 2 will be decommissioned in 2008. The closure was agreed upon in the course of the accession to the EU and included a grant of 20 Mill. € per year over several years from the European Commission. In order to compensate the decrease in electricity production (annually some 18 %) the Slovak Republic intends to import electricity from the Ukraine. Furthermore the Government has launched a tender for a new NPP at this site. It is not decided yet whether the tender should be for one 1,110 MWe or two 600 MWe units.
• Mochovce is operating two units with a capacity of 405 MWe each. Enel, majority owner of Slovenske Elektrarne, announced in September 2007 that it would complete the third and fourth units of the Mochovce NPP by September 2012. (The construction of the two reactors an Mochovce was suspended in 1992 due to lack of funds.) Slovenske Elektrarne plans to upgrade the units Mochovce 1 and 2. The modernisation was entrusted to the Czech group Skoda Power.

[IAEA, Enerdata]

Electricity grid

The electricity grid, which is under the responsibility of SE, has undergone some improvements throughout the 1990s, however, significant improvements are necessary. In 1995, the grid was interconnected with the Western European Union for the Coordination of the Production and Transmission of Electricity (UCPTE) system in October 1995. The grid has also been connected with CENTREL (the new distribution system of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia). These improvements have helped to develop the east-west transmission system, however there are still significant improvements to be made in the north-south transmission network.

Transmission system consists of approx. 2,641 km of 400 kV and 200 kV lines. In order to ensure the safety and reliability of energy supply after the decomissioning of the reactors Bohunice 1 and 2, Slovenské elektrárne, a.s. plans to increase the level of the existing 200 kV system to new high-voltage lines (400kV). There are also plans to construct 400 kV lines between Slovakia and Austria and further connections with Hungary, Poland and the Ukraine

[EBRD]

Oil and Natural Gas

Oil

Slovakia itself has only a small production of crude oil, which is used in the petrochemical industry. The main share of oil is imported from Russia (via the Druzba pipeline). There is one refinery in Bratislava - SLOVNAFT Plc. with an annual processing capacity of 5,5 – 6 mil tons of crude oil. Slovnaft Plc. is part of the Hungarian-based MOL Group (since 2004). Half of its production is exported.

[MOL, Enerdata]

Gas

The production of natural gas is small (0.25 Mtoe). Slovakia has an important position in transit of Russian gas (via Ukraine) to Western Europe (via Austria) and the Czech Republic. The country has a capacity to channel about 92 Gm3 of natural gas. Imports are rather stable: approximately 7 Gm3 have been imported in 2007, mainly from the Russian Federation.

The consumption of gas should reach 9.7 to 11.4 Gm3 in 2010 according to the Ministry. Slovakia is expected to remain dependent on Russian gas for its supply and a new 10 year supply agreement has been signed with Gazprom. The majority of the gas received will continue to act as payment for transit fees.

[Enerdata]

Coal and lignite

Currently domestic supplies of lignite (approximately 0.4 Mtoe) cover 79 % of lignite consumption necessary for production of electricity and heat. The rest has to be imported, mainly from the Czech Republic.

The government is aware of the limited supply of lignite, however for the period of 2005 to 2010 the utilisation of coal for production of electricity and heat is of general economic interest in the field of the power industry. To ensure the required quantity it is necessary to tap new supplies by accessing new coal beds and exhaust existing beds to their full potential.

[Enerdata]

Renewable energy

The main goal as declared in the energy policy is to assume 6% of the total energy production from renewables in 2010. It is generally expected for the ratio of renewable energy sources to increase, especially with the declared government support. The mandatory target set by the newly proposed RES Framework Directive from 2008 includes a 14 % share of RES in the final consumption of energy in 2020.

Concerning electricity consumption the Slovak Republic should supply 31 % from RES by 2010 to comply with the European Directive on Renewables. However this target appears to be too ambitious and reaching the goal seems to be very questionable from the point of view of the Slovak Republic.

According to the Draft Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic the total available potential of individual types of renewable energy sources enables to increase their share in the overall electricity production to as much as 19 % in 2010, 24 % in 2020 and 27 % in 2030.

[Enerdata, Report by the Slovak Republic, Draft Energy Policy 2008]

Potential of renewable energy sources

According to the Ministry of Economics the technical usable potential of all renewable energy sources in the Slovak Republic amounts to 202,9 PJ. Hydroenergy remains currently the major RES used.

The most promising RES for heat production is biomass, with a total potential p.a. of some 75.6 PJ. Biomass is also considered a prospective source for electricity production. All in all these RES could make up some 120 PJ, a figure that complies with approximately 15 % of the overall energy demand of of the Slovak Republic (810 PJ).

[RES Action Plan, bfai]

Available potential of renewable resources

[PJ = Peta Joule]

[Draft Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic (MHSR, 2008]

Hydropower

The installed capacity of hydroelectric plants is 2,395 MW, representing 28.9 % of the total installed capacity of Slovakia´s electric grid. The Váh River valley accounts for 47,6 % of the hydroelectric power potential. Currently there are more than 20 hydroelectric power plants on the Váh River, amounting to 1,600 MWe. The Cierny Váh pumped storage plant in the Váh basin has for example a capacity of 735 MWe. A run of the river plant with another 720 MWe installed capacity is operating on a canal parallel to the Danube River.

There are currently approx. 180 small hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of more than 60 MW in operation in Slovakia. In the frame of the programme of the development of hydroelectric power plants, there are overall 250 locations which have been selected as the building sites for small hydropower plants on the rivers Danube, Váh, Hron, Bodrog and Hornád which could bring total installed capacity of 93 MW. From among the most significant construction projects there is the Sered hydropower plant (52 MW), and small hydropower plants on the rivers Hron, Horný Váh and Poprad.

[EBRD]

Biomass

Alongside hydropower biomass represents the largest potential renewable energy supply. As already mentioned, the technical viable potential of biomass utilization corresponds with some 120 PJ. Currently only 2 % of primary enery sources are biomass.

Biomass resources available in the Slovak Republic include:

• forest biomass
• agricultural biomass
• wood working industry residues
• municipal waste

Forest biomass is already used extensively for energy production, nevertheless it is estimated that only 10 % of the resources useable are being exploited.
Development objectives to increase the share of biomass in electricity and heat production include combined combustion of coal and wood chips, gasification of wood in thermal power plants, the use of biogas in smaller power plants and the enhanced use of agricultural and forestry biomass.

[EBRD, bfai, SIEA]

Wind energy

The wind energy potential in the Slovak Republic is relatively low, making up 2.7 % of the total renewable energy potential in Slovakia. At present there are just five wind power stations with nine turbines and and an installed capacity of 5.14 MW. Under the current conditions, electricity production from wind energy is expected to reach 200 GWh by 2010.

Projects on the drawing board

Slovakia's Ministy of Environment has up until the end of 2007 several major wind power projects commissioned, most of which are situated in the West of the country. One of the biggest projects is a Austro-Slovakian venture, namely by Energo-Wind. The company wants to construct 20 to 44 wind power stations to a value of up to EUR 115 million in towns close to the southern stretch of the Slovakian-Czech border. These stations are scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2008.

[EBRD, Draft Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic 2008]

Solar energy

The Slovak Republic is situated between 48 and 50 degree latitude. Solar radiation flux achieves maximum 1,050 kWh/m2, so that a half of year its values are 806 kWh/m2. However due to its costs the use of solar energy for electricity production is inefficient at present.

[EBRD, Draft Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic, 2008]

Geothermal Energy

The Slovak Republic is rich in low enthalpy geothermal sources (between 45°C and 130°C). The temperature rises on average 3°C per 100 m of well. Geothermal waters in the Slovak Republic are being utilised on 35 locations offering an aggregate heating capacity of 75 MW and generation of 1,218 TJ/y for distirict heating and to heat swimming pools and greenhouses.

Slovakia has further 25 prospective areas of geothermal resources with temperatures up to 150°C and in depths up to 5,000 m. The most abundant of them is the Košice with potential of about 300 MW, where 3 trial wells have already been drilled, showing GT water temperatures to be as high as 130°C. The implementation of 8 extraction wells and 8 re-injection wells having a capacity of 100 MWt (2500 TJ) is expected.

[SE]

Support Mechanisms and feed-in conditions for electricity from renewable energy sources

Measures encouraging greater use of RES for electricity production

• Producer of electricity from RES enjoy the right of preferential electricity transmission, distribution and supply
• System operators are obliged to preferentially purchase electricity produced from RES
• A transmission and distribution system operator is obliged to provide connection and access to the system based on a transparent and non-discriminatory principle
• A concept for the issuance of guarantees of origin has been established, producer of electricity from RES are granted a confirmation on the origin of the electricity produced. The document is provided by the Regulatory Office for Network Industries
• System operators are obliged to ensure the operability of already existing transmission and distribution lines and facilities and the development of future systems, adapted to the further expansion of the production of electricity from RES
• Electricity suppliers have to provide information on the share of individual types of primary energy sources
• The simplification of administrative procedures pertaining to construction of facilities for the production of electricity from RES
• The simplification of administrative procedures pertaining to operation - i.e. for example a producer of electricity from RES in a facility with a total installed capacity up to 5 MW does not need a licence to operate on the energy market

[Draft Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic, 2008]

Fixed Feed-in Tariffs

The feed-in prices paid to independent producers by the net-operators are set annually by the Regulatory Office for Network Industries.

The law does not provide for a purchasing obligation, however, according to the governmental decree 124/2005 Z.z. on regulation of the electricity market, operators of transmission and distribution networks are obliged to preferential purchase of electricity from RES (as already mentioned above), CHP and domestic coal for covering their transmission and distribution losses. The fixed purchase prices are set by a decree of the Regulatory office (see below). These tariffs are reduced if the producer has been granted an investment subsidy from the state (by 8% for subsidies of up to 40%, by 15% in case of subsidy above 15%).

The Regulatory Office sets the fixed feed-in prices for electricity from Renewable Energy Sources and CHP by decree once a year. Fixed prices for electricity generated form RES listed below will be applied based on the Certificate of Origin of electricity generated by the relevant authority according to a special directive. The decree also lists the tariffs for electricity produced in combined heat and power plants.