Slovenia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in slovenia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Energy
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Overview

About 40 percent of Slovenia’s electricity comes from renewable sources, 90 percent of which is generated by hydropower. Thermal power plants account for 23 percent of electricity production, while nuclear power provides 37 percent. 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 focused on renewables and increased efficiency. The document seeks to meet EU climate targets through improving energy efficiency, deploying new sustainable energy technologies and advanced energy systems, and transitioning toward  renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear energy. 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. TEŠ has now shifted its primary function to the provision of district heating and operates at a reduced capacity. 

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 is preparing plans for a second nuclear production facility at the Krško nuclear power plant to provide 1,100-2,400 MW. Westinghouse supplies Krško’s fuel rods, Urenco supplies its fuel, and Holtec constructed a dry cask nuclear waste storage facility.  

Slovenia uses approximately 0.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, accounting for about 14 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. In May 2024, the parties agreed to increase supply by an additional 200 million cubic meters per year, and in May 2025, the companies extended the agreement for another three years. Slovenia does not have gas storage facilities and is dependent on infrastructure in Austria and Croatia. Beginning in 2027, Geoplin booked additional capacity to acquire LNG from Croatia’s Krk terminal.   

Slovenia has accelerated efforts to increase power generation from renewable sources, including solar and wind energy. The 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. In 2021, Slovenia announced a pipeline of new solar projects, ranging from a 9.9 MW solar power plant in Prapretno to a 3 MW 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. To address future energy needs, the government has been active in planning for a second large reactor at Krško nuclear power plant and has also begun exploring the use of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). 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 markets in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Algeria, 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

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