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Slovakia

MARKET STRUCTURE

In the Slovak Republic, large-scale hydro energy is the only renewable energy source with a notable share in total electricity consumption. Between 1997 and 2004, this market share stabilised. The share taken up by small-scale hydro energy has decreased by an average of 15 per cent per year over the same period. An extended development programme, with 250 selected sites for building small hydro plants has been adopted. The government has decided to use only biomass in remote, mountainous, rural areas, where natural gas is unavailable. Between 1997 and 2004, the Slovak Republic moved further away from its RES target.

KEY SUPPORT SCHEME

RES-E policy in the Slovak Republic includes the following measures:

• A measure that gives priority regarding transmission, distribution and supply was included in the 2004 Act on Energy.
• Guarantees of origin are being issued.
• Tax exemption is granted for RES-E. This regulation is valid for the calendar year in which the facility commenced operation and then for five consecutive years.
• A system of fixed FITs has been in place since 2005.
• Subsidies up to €100.000 are available for the (re)construction of RES-E facilities. Decree No 2/2005 of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (2005) set out the fixed FITs available for RES-E.

Table I.21: Key Support Schemes (FITs) in the Slovak Republic

* Note: Exact level of FIT depends on the exchange rate. Here 1€ = 35,458 SKK. The prices have been set so that a rate of return on the investment is 12 years when drawing a commercial loan. These fixed tariffs will be inflation adjusted the following year.

FUTURE TARGETS

In terms of its primary energy consumption, the Slovak Republic has fixed the target of 6 per cent renewable energy consumption by 2010. The target set by the EU Directive for RES-E is 31 per cent in 2010. Currently, renewable energy represents about 3.5 per cent of the total primary energy consumption in the Slovak Republic. Between 1997 and 2004, the share of RES-E decreased from 17.9 per cent to 14.53 per cent of gross energy consumption. In the Slovak Republic, the highest additional mid-term potential of all RES lies with biomass.