News & Analysis

/17^th January 2018, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ The Hungarian Government is willing to establish a sustainable energy economy in all aspects, where beside environmental and social sustainability, cost-effectiveness also prevails. The expansion of renewable energy systems can help to decentralize our power supply system, and it opens up new directions of development such as a smart grid system. Hungary imports nowadays approximately 30% of its power. In the meantime, 50% of the country’s power is generated from a single nuclear plant (Paks Nuclear Power Plant). János Lázár, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office announced in the middle of December 2017, the government’s plans to minimize Hungary’s energy imports in the next 10-20 years. He said Hungary should cover one half of the country’s total demand from the upgraded Paks Nuclear Power Plant, and the other half from solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants.

To reach this goal Hungary plans to ease regulations regarding solar photovoltaic (PV) installations up to 500 kW installed on one-hectare land plots and according to János Lázár, the government will off-take all solar energy produced. To support these government plans subsidized loans provided by the state-owned Development Bank MFB shall be available to developers or farmers looking to build solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants with a capacity not more than 500 kW.

Hungary is a member of the European Union and is obliged according to the EU strategy to increase its renewable energy share. The EU has adopted the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, which included a 20% renewable energy target by 2020. The government of Hungary’s forecast is to reach 14.7% renewables in gross energy consumption by 2020, exceeding their 13% binding target by 1.7 percentage points. Furthermore, Hungary is the EU country with the smallest forecast penetration of renewables of the electricity demand in 2020.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) power in Hungary is rapidly growing since 2014, despite significant lagging behind most European states. By the end of 2015, Hungary had installed more than 110 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. The country’s capacity robustly grew during 2016, reaching more than  250 MW at the end of the year.  Many parts of Hungary’s southeastern regions are prime development spots for solar plants, enjoying excellent solar irradiation, flat terrain and good infrastructure.

More information about fast-developing solar market in Hungary you may read here: Hungary Photovoltaic (Solar PV) Market Outlook 2017 – 2026