WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

4.3.10 Slovenia
European Small Hydropower Association, Stream Map
Key facts
Population 1,996,617
Area 20,273 km 2
Climate Mediterranean climate on the coast,
continental climate with mild to hot
summers and cold winters in the
plateaus and valleys to the east 1
Topography A short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an
alpine mountain region adjacent to
Italy and Austria, mixed mountains and
valleys with numerous rivers to the
east
Rain pattern Total annual amount of precipitations
was 1,552 mm (in 2009). The amount
of precipitation differs significantly
between months. Most meteorological
stations recorded maximum amounts
in December and minimum amounts in
May or September 2
Electricity sector overview
The electricity market in Slovenia was fully opened on
1 July 2007. Since the electricity market was
liberalized, industries and households have been free
to choose their supplier of electricity. Distributors are
able to set prices. Unbundling is limited to accounts
only for the time being. The Energy Act stipulates that
transmission, distribution and operation of the
relevant networks and supply of electricity to tariff
customers are compulsory national commercial public
services. Hydropower accounts for 22.60 per cent of
the electricity generation (figure 1).
remaining potential cannot be analyzed at this time
due to lack of official and reliable data (figure 2). 4
Renewable energy policy
The Renewable Energy Framework Directive is already
fully implemented in the Slovenian energy legislation
with the new Energy Act (September 1999), the
secondary legislation and the Renewable Energy
Sources Action Plan (July 2010). With its binding
targets it has a positive impact on the renewable
energy sources development. 4
The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is only
partially implemented, with the regulation on heavily
modified water bodies still missing. In the case of
small hydropower, it is understood this is served as a
protective legislation, which means that the
authorization procedures, especially for the
concession, are blocked. The lack of the clear
governmental policy and harmonization efforts to
bring the two (Renewable Energy Framework
Directive and WFD) seemingly opposite interests
closer together is the core cause for the slow
development of the small hydropower sector. 4
The Slovenian renewable energy sources target for
2020 is 25 per cent. According to the Renewable
Energy Sources Action plan (July 2010):
The Ministry of the Environment and Spatial
Planning will solve the blocked small hydropower
concession applications.
The Ministry of Economy will provide a study of
the costs and benefits of existing small
hydropower that will serve as a baseline for the
sustainable criteria, considering environmental,
social and economic effects.
Small Producers
Hydro
Thermal
Nuclear
5.58%
22.60%
32.17%
39.65%
The Action Plan estimated that the country’s small
hydropower shows a very low increase of installed
capacity and annual generation from 2005 to 2020 –
22 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Figure 1 Electricity generation in Slovenia
Source: Energy Agency 3
Small hydropower sector overview and potential
SHP installed
capacity
SHP potential
117 MW
192 MW
0 50 100 150 200 250
Figure 2 Small hydropower capacities in Slovenia
Note: Potential based on planned 2020 capacity.
In 2010, Slovenia had 535 small hydropower plants
and a total installed capacity of 117 MW (465 GWh).
By 2020, the aim is to have 568 plants with a total
installed capacity of 192 MW (758 GWh). The
Legislation on small hydropower
Residual flow is regulated by Government’s Decree
(No. 97/2009, 30.11.2009) and calculated using a
formula. A feed-in tariff with a premium
(Government’s Decree (No. 37/2009, 18.5.2009) exists
to financially support electricity from renewable
energy sources. The methodology for price calculation
is based on total annual operational production costs.
This includes investment, operational and
maintenance costs. The depreciation period is 15
years and the discount rate is 12 per cent. 4
The small hydropower plants are divided into three
categories given their installed capacity: Pi < 50 kW, Pi