Renewable energy in Slovakia

In Slovakia, nuclear power plants still hold the lead in electricity generation, producing 60.11% of all electricity last year. This was followed by hydropower plants with 15%, biomass-based sources with 4.14% and solar power plants with 2.57% of all electricity in the country. In the fossil part of generation, gas-fired power plants dominated with 8.56% of the total generation, accompanied to a lesser extent by sources using coal and petroleum products.

A total of 24.68 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity was generated in Slovakia last year, showing a decrease of more than 3 TWh compared to last year and more than 5 TWh compared to 2020.

Compared to 2021, nuclear generation increased by more than 7%, while gas-fired plants fell from 15.40% to 8.56% of all electricity generated.

Statistics for 2023 will not be available until next spring, but we can already predict what will affect this year's numbers. A high impact is expected due to the start-up of the third unit of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant, which is in the phase of commissioning at full capacity.

Conversely, a decline in electricity production from coal-based sources is expected, as coal-fired power generation is declining in the Upper Nitra region.

Wind energy will contribute only a negligible share of energy, despite the high number of wind projects in the pipeline. As far as geothermal energy is concerned, the construction of such a project is still in its permitting process.

The first grants from the Recovery Plan amounted to EUR 18 million and the calls were published in May last year. The application process, together with the evaluation process, took eight months, and out of 120 applications, about 94 projects were supported. The maximum amount of support per project was set at EUR 3 million. The call focused on the installation of new renewable energy sources from 500 kilowatts up to 50 megawatts.

Wind parks received the largest injection of funding, especially the Dolné Saliby Wind Park Stage 1, the Tvrdošín Wind Park and the Veolia Utilities wind power plant. Among solar projects, the ministry supported the Baňa Dolina Photovoltaic Power Plant, the Bankov I Photovoltaic Power Plant and the Bankov II Photovoltaic Power Plant.

Second grants from the Recovery Plan amounted to EUR 16 million and were focused on the modernisation of existing hydropower plants. The call was intended for operators of existing operational hydropower plants with a capacity of at least 0.5 MW.

The largest support, amounting to EUR 10 million, was received by Slovenské elektrárne (Slovak Electric Power Plants) with the project to construct the Ružín hydroelectric power plant. A grant of EUR 3.6 million was awarded to the Vodohodpodárska výroba (Water supply production) project for the renovation of the Čuňovo hydroelectric power plant.

The third grant from the Recovery Plan amounted to EUR 10 million, with a maximum contribution per project of EUR 1 million. The call was addressed to operators of biogas plants for electricity production. Operators in the Bratislava region could receive a grant up to 45% while operators in other regions could receive up to 60%. The grants can be used for a wide range of investments such as the purchase of technologies, gas coolers, water separators, gas traps, blowers and burners.

The main factor for obtaining the grants was the amount of electricity generated by the registered entities. Biogas plants had to produce electricity equivalent to at least 2,000 hours of production in 2021 or produce electricity equivalent to at least 1,000 hours of production from the beginning of 2022 to the end of June 2022.

A total of 20 companies succeeded in this call with an average subsidy per project of EUR 470,000.

The Ministry of the Economy of the Slovak Republic has recently published a schedule of calls that should bring nearly EUR 140 million to the Slovak energy sector under the Renewal and Resilience Plan. The ministry intends to publish five calls by November 2023, two of which are expected to be published this summer. A call for investments in the modernisation of existing RES energy sources, the “biogas plant repowering”, should also be published during the summer, under which it is planned to reallocate around EUR 26 million. The second call, scheduled for early autumn, is expected to reallocate up to EUR 64 million for investments in the construction of new RES electricity sources, including investments in batteries.

The second set of calls will be launched in autumn this year and around EUR 50 million will be distributed to the selected projects. These will be investments in pumped storage and battery systems. The last call for EUR 13.56 million will take place in November and is expected to close early next year. The last call will aim to enhance flexibility through hydrogen.

The battery market is currently growing in Slovakia, which will enable further development of renewable energy sources. A major investment is currently in the permitting process, which consists of the construction of the largest battery storage facility in Slovakia, and which will be associated with the construction of a photovoltaic power plant. The planned capacity of the plant with 54,000 double-sided photovoltaic panels should reach 30 MW.

The battery storage facility itself will provide a capacity of up to 9 MW and the ZAR group behind it has said it will use the energy for its business and sell the surplus energy on the market. The ZAR group has already installed photovoltaic panels on an agrotechnical hall and on the roof of a hospital.

To develop renewable energy sources, another battery storage facility will be built on the site of an existing power plant in the south of the country. The new facility should provide a capacity of 6 MW.

Interest in building battery storage facilities is growing not only due to continually increasing electricity prices, but also because of their potential in the context of renewable energy sources.

The Slovak Republic is currently in the process of passing a law on climate change and low-carbon transformation, which is being drafted by the Ministry of the Environment. The law reflects the Plan of Legislative Tasks of the Government of the Slovak Republic for 2022 and the Program Declaration of the Government of the Slovak Republic for the period 2021-2024.

The Act will align the legislative framework of the Slovak Republic with that of the European Union, bringing Slovakia closer to achieving its climate goals and contributing to the achievement of climate neutrality in Europe.

The adoption of this law will have a positive impact on the renewable sector. The sector will also be affected by snap parliamentary elections to be held in September this year.