development report 2012 - UMAR

208 Development Report 2012
Indicators of Slovenia’s development
Energy intensity
In terms of energy intensity, Slovenia ranked worse
than most EU Member States in 2010 and its gap with
the EU average was wider than in 2005. With regard
to energy intensity calculated as energy consumption
per unit of GDP in purchasing power standards (PPS), 1
Slovenia was ranked 16 th among EU Member States in
2005, and three places lower in 2010. On this indicator,
Slovenia’s energy intensity was 19.2% higher than the
EU average in 2010 (in 2005, 12.7%). The differences
between countries result from both the structure of
the economy (the share of service activities, energyintensive
industries, transport volume, etc.) and
differences in energy efficiency within industries.
Generally, new Member States are more energy
intensive than the older members, but the gaps with
the EU average are closing. 2 In previous years similar
developments had also been seen in Slovenia, but
in 2007–2009 this trend came to a halt, as in 2009
energy intensity deteriorated, or improved more
slowly than in the EU as a whole, where it continued
to decline. Energy intensity then rose in both the EU
and Slovenia in 2010 (by 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively).
With GDP recording somewhat lower growth than
energy consumption, energy intensity in Slovenia is
also estimated to have deteriorated slightly in 2011.
The increase in total energy consumption in 2010
(2.2%) mainly resulted from higher demand for
energy by households and industry. The consumption
of energy for transformation (transformation losses)
declined by 0.9% in Slovenia in 2010, while final
energy consumption rose by 3.7%. The most notable
growth was recorded by final energy consumption by
households, at 5.4%, with nearly half of the increase
being covered by higher consumption of wood. In
industry (particularly in the metal industry and in
the manufacture of machinery and equipment),
energy consumption expanded by 4.9%, largely due
to increased consumption of electricity and gas. Final
energy consumption in services and road transport
grew as well, by 2.6% and 1.5%, respectively, but
these two sectors made a smaller contribution to the
increase in total energy consumption in Slovenia in
2010.
declined in the EU. In the period including the crisis
year of 2009, total energy consumption in Slovenia
grew at a 0.3% annual rate, in contrast to that in the
EU, which declined by 0.6%. Final energy consumption
in road transport, which did not increase in the EU,
was still rising in Slovenia by an average of 4.5% per
year. The latter can mainly be explained by higher
growth rates before the crisis, though this trend
slowed somewhat in 2009 and 2010. Nevertheless,
energy consumption in road transport in 2010 was
22.4% higher than in 2005, and 35.8% higher than in
2003, i.e. before the last major enlargement of the EU,
when external trade flows through Slovenia soared.
Moreover, energy consumption in road transport was
also attributable to prices of automotive fuels being
lower than in neighbouring countries, resulting in
increased fuel purchases by vehicles in transit.
The higher energy intensity in Slovenia also
reflects the industrial structure of the economy.
Slovenia is still among the EU Member States where
manufacturing accounts for a high share of total
value added in the economy (19.4% in 2010; 14.9% in
the EU overall). Energy consumption per unit of value
added in manufacturing is also higher than in the EU
as a whole. With the restructuring of the economy
towards a higher share of less energy-intensive
service activities, and by improving energy efficiency
in manufacturing, we can expect the downward trend
in energy intensity to continue in the future. More
pronounced changes will however depend on the
speed of technological development and a wide array
of measures to promote energy efficiency.
Total energy consumption in Slovenia increased in
2005–2010, primarily due to further strong growth
in energy consumption in road transport, while it
1
For methodological purposes, GDP in purchasing power
standards (PPS) is used in the international comparison for a
given year.
2
In the time comparison, the indicator of comparison of primary
energy consumption per unit of GDP at constant prices is taken
into account.