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Renewable energy – Energy Country Profile

Renewable Energy

According to the National Energy and Climate Plan, Slovakia has set a target of 19.2% share of renewable energies in gross final energy consumption by 2030. In the future, the state plans to support only those renewable energy sources that can guarantee the security of electricity and heat generation without major additional costs for the end consumer. The government sees the heat recovery from animal and vegetable production waste in biogas plants as advantageous. In addition, the country wants to accelerate the use of bio-methane, which is to be produced from wood and organic waste and plant residues, in order to avoid competition in use with agriculture and the production of food.

The Slovak government expects the consumption of renewable energies to increase by 2030, by a total of 1,972 ktoe (or approx. 22.9 TWh) in 2030, with hydropower plants and biogas / biomethane playing the largest role. The installed capacity to generate electricity from renewable energy sources is expected to reach 3,859 MW in 2030 (excluding pumped storage power plants) and the generation from it 9,652 GWh. The installed capacity should be divided among the individual energy sources as follows:

  • Hydro power: 1,755 MW
  • Photovoltaics: 1,200 MW
  • Wind energy: 500 MW
  • Biomass: 200 MW
  • Biogas / biomethane: 200 MW
  • Geothermal: 4 MW

Currently, biomass accounts for the greatest share of electricity generated from renewable sources, followed by biogas, solar and hydropower. Despite high potentials, wind energy remains almost completely unharnessed in the Slovak Republic. At the moment, there are only two small wind parks in Cerová and Myjava. The Slovak transmission system operator (Slovenska elektrizacna prenosova sustava, a.s. (SEPS)) considers wind power to be an unstable source of energy with large fluctuations in production. The construction of wind power plants has come to a complete standstill since 2009 after investors were not granted permission from the national grid operator. In addition, the framework conditions (regulatory and legal framework) continue to hinder the installation of smaller wind turbine for household usage. Two hydropower plants, approved by the government, were put on hold; commissioning is not to be expected before 2025.

Last update: 07 2023