Slovenian Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Market with Stellar Growth in 2022 and Excellent Development Opportunities by 2030
/LONDON, April 18, 2023, 10:30 BST, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCHTM/ By the end of 2022, Slovenia had a cumulative installed capacity of 711MW and registered an increase of 250MW compared to 2021. The country scored its best year in 2022 regarding the YoY growth in new solar PV capacity additions. The residential solar market accounted for almost all of the new capacity additions, according to the Western Balkans Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Market Outlook 2023÷2032 Solar demand in Slovenia will continue as the main drivers will be prolonging the net-metering scheme extension until the end of 2023 and the energy crisis in Europe. The Ministry of Infrastructure is drafting a plan to install a new 1,000MW (1 GW) solar PV capacity in Slovenia with the support of the national transmission system operator (ELES) and the distribution system operator SODO.
Due to its strategic location, Slovenia is essential to the European electricity market. The domestic transmission network consists of 508 km of 400 kV lines, 328 km of 220 kV lines, and 1,736 km of 110 kV lines. Slovenia has strong connections with neighbouring countries, including 2x400 kV and 1x220 kV lines to Austria, 1x400 kV and 1x220 kV lines to Italy, and 3x400 kV and 2x220 kV lines to Croatia and 1x400 kV to Hungary through Croatia.
By the end of 2009, the Slovenian photovoltaic market was underdeveloped, with only 9.5MW of cumulative installed capacity. The favourable renewable energy law with a very attractive feed-in tariff between 2010 and 2014 led to a sharp rise in solar PV installations to 262MW at the end of 2015. After the reduction of government support, the solar market in Slovenia was stalling, with only 199MW of new solar capacity additions between 2015 and 2021.
The Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy presented, on 28 January 2023, a draft law for a change of spatial planning law to enable faster installation of renewable power plants. Slovenia must catch up to the average EU-27 level regarding solar and wind energy use. The new legislative change is the first step towards fulfilling internationally binding goals that may bring Slovenia closer to a climate-neutral society.
The draft law has yet to be made public, but it should answer some of the concerns of the professional public. Environmentalists are critical, saying the government is loosening restrictions too much in a hurry to speed up bureaucratic procedures for investors. Solar and wind power plants will be able to be set up, for example, on artificial lakes - for example, on the Šoštanj and Velenjske lakes - as well as on overgrown agricultural land.
In 2023 and 2024, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy will allocate approximately EUR 0.5 billion for green measures. In August this year, which will address the production of electricity from renewable energy sources - hydropower plants, geothermal energy or solar power plants on public buildings. EUR 50 million will be available to the target groups - electric power companies and investors in production facilities. EUR 82 million will be available for solar and wind power plant investments in October 2023. Beneficiaries will be companies, the public sector, households, municipalities, cooperatives, institutes and individuals. In June 2024, EUR 24.65 million will be available to promote investments and technologies for converting surplus electricity from RES and connecting networks for energy storage upon conversion.
The activity of solar energy investors is increasing in Slovenia since 2020. Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE), the largest producer of electricity from renewable sources in Slovenia, is rapidly moving in the direction of harnessing solar energy to obtain electricity from large solar power plants. In 2022, the largest 3 MW Prapretno Solar Power Plant exceeded its production anticipated in investment documentation by 8 per cent between April (opening of the solar power plant) and December. It produced 3,014.9 MWh of electricity, which suffices the annual supply of approximately 820 Slovenian households. HSE has already commenced the construction of the second phase of the Prapretno Solar Power Plant.
Procedures for acquiring a building permit for Prapretno SPP 2 are underway. At the end of 2022, the Municipality of Hrastnik also published the decision on drafting a detailed municipal plan for Prapretno SPP 3 in the Official Gazette of Zasavje. The decision means the start of the activities for changing land use on neighbouring land plots of the existing Prapretno SPP, which will enable the acquisition of the building permit. Following the construction of Prapretno SPP 2 and 3, the total installed power of all solar power plants of the HSE Group will amount to approximately 9.9 MW. The total power of all solar power plants of the HSE Group will amount to more than 30 MW, which denotes a tenfold increase in the current capacity of Prapretno SPP in two to three years.
Photovoltaic power capacity in Slovenia will grow by 2032 concerning the recent and planned legislative amendments to facilitate the installation of renewable energy power plants and solar photovoltaics.
The more information about the solar power market in Slovenia, including full contact details of solar project owners and developers, you may read here: Western Balkans Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Market Outlook 2023÷2032
To download the executive summary brochure with sample pages for the solar sector in Western Balkans, please access from here: Western Balkans Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Market Outlook 2023 - 2032- Sample
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