Overview
Roughly one-third of Slovenia’s electricity comes from hydroelectric sources, one-third from thermal sources, and one-third from nuclear power (with non-hydro renewables constituting two percent of the total). Almost half of Slovenia’s total energy consumption consists of imported petroleum purchased on global markets.
The government approved a national energy and climate plan in February 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support renewables, and increase efficiency. The document envisions meeting EU climate targets through improving energy efficiency, deployng new sustainable energy technologies and advanced energy systems, and transitioning away from fossil fuels toward low-carbon renewables such as solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear energy. However, the plan failed to include specific recommendations or concrete proposals as to which energy sources should be developed to meet Slovenia’s future energy needs consistent with its Paris Agreement commitments. The Slovenian government is currently in the process of updating its national energy and climate plan.
Slovenia currently operates one coal-fired thermal power plant – the 600 MW Thermal Power Plant Šoštanj sixth unit (TEŠ), which came into operation in 2014. In January 2022, Slovenian government adopted a national strategy to phase out coal by 2033, adopting a more ambitious timeline than was initially considered. The phase out of coal would include the premature closure of the TEŠ sixth unit, which has a lifecycle until 2054. Now with a clear phaseout timeline, Slovenia can begin drawing EUR 248.38 million from the EU Just Transition Fund.
While the gas and oil markets have made progress toward privatization, electricity production remains largely in state hands. The holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE) owns and manages a series of electricity production plants, primarily hydropower and the thermal power plant Šoštanj. GEN Energija manages a nuclear plant as well as several hydropower units. GEN Energija has prepared tentative plans for a second nuclear production facility at the Krško nuclear power plant to provide 1,100-2,400 MW by 2030. In July 2021, following Parliament’s approval of Slovenia’s long-term climate strategy, the Ministry of Infrastructure issued the energy permit for the second reactor at Krško nuclear power plant, sending a strong signal on the future role of nuclear energy in Slovenia’s energy mix. The energy permit allows GEN Energija to move forward with the planning process for the second reactor, including finalizing the location, conducting the environmental impact assessment, obtaining the building permit, and determining financing options, and selecting the vendor. Despite Krško’s recent lifecycle extension through 2043, forecasts show Slovenia will be unable to meet domestic energy production needs by 2025. Westinghouse supplies Krško’s fuel rods, Urenco supplies its fuel, and Holtec constructed a dry cask nuclear waste storage facility.
Slovenia uses approximately 0.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, accounting for about 12 percent of the country’s energy consumption. The state-owned gas company Geoplin signed a five-year natural gas supply contract with Gazprom in 2018 to import 600 million cubic meters of Russian natural gas per year. Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, however, forced Slovenia to reconsider its energy policy and seek alternate sources. In 2022, Geoplin signed a three-year contract to purchase 300 million cubic meters of natural gas per year, equal to one third of Slovenia’s annual gas consumption, from the Algerian company Sonatrach. Slovenia does not have gas storage facilities, and is dependent on infrastructure in Austria and Croatia. Slovenia has expressed interest in securing U.S. LNG sources via terminals in Krk, Croatia, or Rovigo, Italy, to diversify its supply. Beginning in 2027, Geoplin booked additional capacity to acquire LNG from the Krk terminal.
Slovenia’s natural gas infrastructure company Plinovodi hopes to work with Hungary’s FGSZ to construct a new gas interconnector to link Hungary and Slovenia, a project the EU has designated as a Project of Common Interest and which qualifies for funding through the Connecting Europe Facility. Investment plans in the transmission and distribution system also include the modernization of national dispatching and local distribution control centers, the renovation of the transmission grid, better control of reactive power in the system, and the completion and renovation of the east-west 400 kV transmission with Hungary. However, a lack of financial resources has postponed these projects.
Since the change in government, Slovenia accelerated efforts to increase power generation from renewable sources, including solar and wind energy. The PM Golob government took steps to streamline the permitting process to make renewable energy projects more attractive. New legislation identified priority locations for solar and wind farm installations and removed barriers to new renewable energy projects. As a result, Slovenia announced a steady pipeline of new solar projects in recent months, ranging from a 9.9 MW solar power plant in Prapretno to a 3MW solar power plant at the Port of Koper.
The Slovenian government has identified green transformation as a priority for its national recovery and resilience plan, allocating at least 43 percent of the EUR 2.5 billion funds requested from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility toward this transformation. These efforts will include improving energy efficiency in buildings, increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix, and increasing public transport options.
Leading Sub-Sectors
- Fuels and lubricants (wholesale)
- Motor fuels (retail)
- Distribution of electricity, gas, heat, and hot water
- Mining
- Oil and Natural Gas
Opportunities
Slovenia increasingly imports power to meet growing domestic consumption and could face shortfalls in the near future, particularly in view of its limited financial resources and the long regulatory approval process required for new hydroelectric or nuclear capacity. Slovenia has an effective electricity grid and is pursuing opportunities to partner with neighboring countries to build and strengthen natural gas interconnections, as well as opportunities to increase access to and markets in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and the Western Balkans. Slovenia’s energy companies are active in developing innovative electricity transmission and distribution solutions, while the country’s energy infrastructure is among the strongest in the region.
Resources
Ministry of the Environment, Climate, and Energy Langusova 4, SI- 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
E-mail: gp.mzi@gov.si
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Dimiceva 13, 1504 Ljubljana, Slovenia
E-mail: info@gzs.si
Web: https://eng.gzs.si/
U.S. Commercial Service
Matjaž Kavčič, Senior Economic Commercial Specialist
Phone: +386 1 200 5644
Fax: +386 1 200 5555