Slovakia’s Renewable Energy Push: Electricity Sharing, the 2030 Target and the Rise of Battery Storage

In recent years, Slovakia’s renewable energy sector has gained considerable momentum. Driven by binding national and EU climate commitments, the country is gradually reshaping the regulatory and commercial landscape for clean power generation, consumption and storage. Four developments illustrate this shift particularly well: the introduction of green electricity sharing, the country’s formal commitment to increasing the share of renewables in its energy mix by 2030, the accelerating deployment of battery energy storage systems (BESS), and the anticipated expansion of wind energy.

The 2030 renewable energy target

Slovakia’s strategic commitments in the field of renewable energy are anchored in the integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), prepared by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action. The NECP constitutes the country’s principal policy and regulatory framework document in this area.

Under the NECP, Slovakia has committed to reaching a 19.2% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030. This headline figure is broken down into sector-specific sub-targets: a 22% share of renewable energy is targeted for the heating and cooling sector by 2030, while the transport sector is expected to reach a 14% renewable energy share, achieved primarily through the use of biofuels and renewable electricity. The overall trajectory towards the 2030 target is structured around mandatory reference points: at least 14.94% by 2022, 16.24% by 2025, and 17.38% by 2027. Total cumulative investment costs for achieving these renewable energy objectives over the 2021–2030 period are estimated at EUR4.3 billion, covering both the electricity and heating sectors.

These commitments are backed by binding legislation and constantly subject to regulatory oversight. The 19.2% national target sits within a broader EU framework – the European Commission’s indicative formula under Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 pointed to a benchmark of 24% for Slovakia, but the final NECP reflects the country’s specific energy mix, including its substantial nuclear generation capacity. For investors and market participants, the practical question is not the gap between those two figures but rather the progress Slovakia is achieving in meeting its own target.

The latest figures show tangible momentum: renewable energy sources accounted for 10.67% of total electricity consumption in 2024, rising to 11.93% in 2025. With the 2030 deadline approaching, a significant acceleration in new capacity additions is expected – creating substantial demand for legal, regulatory and transactional advisory services across the sector.

The principal legislative framework underpinning this effort is Act No. 309/2009 Coll. on the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources and High-Efficiency Combined Heat and Power Generation. The Act introduces a support mechanism based mainly on mandatory electricity purchase obligations and feed-in tariffs, designed to stimulate the production of energy from renewable sources and to increase the overall share of renewables in the country’s energy consumption.

To meet the 2030 target, several building blocks will need to come together: a build-out of new generation capacity – predominantly solar while wind development is still comparatively limited, with eventual BESS – sufficient grid capacity to absorb new connections, significant regulatory streamlining of permitting procedures, and financial incentives that keep projects bankable. In this context, it is worth noting the rise of green electricity sharing and the rapid development of battery energy storage – both of which are tools that, though in different ways, help Slovakia convert installed renewable capacity into usable, distributable and bankable clean energy.

Green electricity sharing

Electricity sharing has become one of the fastest-growing trends in the Slovak energy market. Though not an entirely new concept, it has experienced a significant surge in recent years. The main drivers behind this growth are the continuing rise in energy prices and the desire of consumers and businesses to reduce their dependence on large incumbent suppliers. As a result, electricity sharing has quickly moved from a niche arrangement to one of the more significant recent developments in the Slovak renewable energy market.

The essence of electricity sharing lies in the ability of an active consumer to share self-generated electricity with another active consumer. This transfer must take place within the distribution network, and the mechanism effectively allows electricity generated from renewable sources to be consumed at a location different from the location where it is produced.

In a typical scenario, an active consumer – for example, a household or business with a rooftop photovoltaic installation – generates more electricity than it can use at a given moment. Rather than feeding that surplus back to the grid at unfavourable terms, the producer can share it through the distribution network with other members of a sharing group. This simple mechanism removes the traditional requirement that generation and consumption occur behind the same meter or within the same premises, and opens up new possibilities for structuring renewable energy supply.

This shift has also had a direct impact on contracting practice. Off-site power purchase agreements (PPAs) are increasingly replacing the on-site PPAs that previously dominated the Slovak market, giving both producers and offtakers considerably more flexibility in how they structure long-term renewable electricity supply arrangements.

Electricity sharing sits alongside, and interacts with, the broader system of Guarantees of Origin (GOs) that underpins the Slovak market for renewable electricity. The Slovak legal framework relies on a system of GOs, governed by the Energy Act and the Act on the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources. GOs are issued by the Transmission System Operator and serve as the sole proof of renewable electricity origin, with each GO corresponding to 1 MWh. These transferable electronic certificates may be used by consumers to demonstrate renewable energy consumption, and the system operates separately from financial support schemes, ensuring transparency for commercial purposes. GOs therefore provide the certification layer, while electricity sharing (together with PPAs) increasingly provides the commercial and physical delivery mechanism, for renewable electricity to reach corporate and industrial offtakers.

That said, the market is still in a transitional stage. It continues to await further regulatory measures that would reduce network tariffs and distribution costs specifically in connection with green electricity sharing arrangements. Removing these cost frictions is widely seen as a precondition for electricity sharing to scale up materially, particularly for small and medium-sized offtakers for whom distribution charges represent a proportionally larger share of the delivered electricity price. Market participants and policymakers are also watching closely whether further easing of legislative and regulatory constraints in adjacent areas could unlock additional demand for shared renewable electricity, including from sectors and technologies whose development in Slovakia has so far been comparatively limited.

Battery Energy Storage Systems

Battery storage has moved rapidly from an exceptional or experimental technology to a standard of Slovakia’s renewable energy infrastructure. Over the past two years, financial incentives have been introduced specifically to support the development of energy storage systems, resulting in the installation of an estimated 20 MW of BESS in the country.

Under the Energy Act, BESS are recognised as independent market participants rather than merely as end-use devices. The Energy Act defines BESS as facilities capable of supplying electricity to the grid and sets out the basic rights and obligations of their operators. This classification matters commercially and legally: it allows storage assets to participate in the market on comparable terms to other generation and flexibility resources, rather than being treated as a sole appliance sitting behind a single customer’s meter.

In practice, battery storage in Slovakia takes one of two principal forms:

• Physical battery storage stores surplus electricity – typically from solar generation – in a physical battery installation and returns it to the system at a later point in time. Its main function is to improve energy self-sufficiency, reduce dependence on the grid, and provide backup power during outages. Physical storage inevitably involves some degree of energy loss in the storage and discharge cycle. A BESS installation may be developed either as an integrated part of a renewable energy project or as a standalone facility in its own right.
• A virtual battery, by contrast, does not involve a physical storage installation at all. It is instead a service provided by an electricity supplier. Where an end customer generates surplus electricity from an on-grid renewable installation, that excess electricity is virtually “stored” for the customer on the supplier’s books. The customer may subsequently draw the equivalent volume of electricity back from the grid, subject only to a reduced distribution charge, without the capital cost of installing a physical battery.

Battery storage also plays an increasingly important structural role in enabling electricity sharing, since it facilitates the real-time use and redistribution of generated electricity. Stored energy can be allocated among multiple consumers as needed, rather than being lost at the moment of generation. In this way, BESS help optimise consumption patterns, utilise surplus production, and contribute to grid stability and a more cost-efficient energy supply.

A range of financial and regulatory incentives supports the growth of storage capacity. Under a connection fee refund mechanism, a substantial portion of the grid connection tariff is refundable where the storage facility operator meets the applicable regulatory requirements.

BESS systems deployed solely for on-site utilisation – so-called “behind the meter” systems – can qualify for exemptions from selected fees, including distribution charges or alternative power levies. This exemption is subject to a strict prerequisite: the electricity in question must be reserved and used exclusively within the operator’s own premises. If applicable, this exemption substantially reduces operational expenditure for the storage operator.

Regulation has also been simplified for smaller-capacity installation storage facilities intended mainly for self-consumption, which are exempt from the requirement to obtain an electricity generation licence, a simplified licensing approach that significantly reduces the administrative burden for households and small businesses considering storage investments.

On the funding side, the Recovery and Resilience Plan has established several financial support programmes providing grants for the installation of small-scale photovoltaic systems and BESS, helping to reduce upfront investment costs for households and smaller businesses.

Despite these incentives, financing for storage projects is provided mainly by commercial banks and investment funds, often alongside public co-funding that reduces investment risk and encourages private sector participation. These financial resources come from both domestic and international investors and are commonly associated with wider renewable energy investment.

Wind energy

Wind energy has historically been one of the least developed renewable energy segments in Slovakia. As a landlocked country, Slovakia regulates only onshore wind energy development, subject to strict zoning and land-use requirements. Until recently, regulatory constraints – including a protective distance requirement of 6 km from residential areas – effectively prevented the construction of new wind farms. That distance has now been reduced to 1 km, removing one of the principal barriers to development.

Wind farm projects in Slovakia require a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a building permit, and an electricity generation licence issued by the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (RONI). The permitting process has been widely regarded as lengthy and burdensome, and a significant acceleration in the deployment of wind capacity is expected to depend on the adoption of a new Environmental Impact Assessment Act, which would streamline and shorten approval timelines for renewable energy projects generally.

The NECP itself envisaged a gradual build-up of onshore wind capacity in Slovakia from 30 MW in 2021 to 500 MW by 2030, with projected annual output reaching 1,000 GWh. This trajectory underscores the policy expectation that wind energy would become a material contributor to the national renewable electricity mix over the decade, yet actual progress has so far fallen well short of these projections.

Despite these historical constraints, there are now clear signs that wind energy in Slovakia is entering a new phase. According to data from the SAPI (Slovak Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Association), its members are currently preparing wind energy projects with a combined installed capacity of 1,116.5 MW, representing a total estimated investment of EUR1.4 billion. These projects envisage approximately 200 individual wind turbines distributed across six of Slovakia’s eight regions.

If completed, these installations could generate enough electricity to supply approximately 736,000 Slovak households. While the majority of the planned capacity is concentrated in western Slovakia – reflecting the region’s higher average wind speeds and proximity to established wind energy infrastructure in neighbouring Austria – projects with a combined capacity of 122 MW are also being prepared in central and eastern Slovakia, accounting for roughly 10% of the total pipeline. Industry participants point to an analysis of Slovakia’s wind energy potential carried out by the Austrian consultancy Energiewerkstatt, which concluded that the country’s wind resources are comparable to those of Austria and are not limited to the western part of the country.

From a regulatory perspective, the development of larger wind energy installations is often accompanied by local opposition and public disputes regarding their siting, which adds a further layer of complexity to the permitting process. Market participants have emphasised that the adoption of a reformed EIA Act would be an important signal, as further delays risk setting back the construction of local green energy sources that could also help mitigate the risks associated with disruptions to gas supplies and volatile energy prices.

Continued progress

Several EU member states have responded to the energy supply crisis triggered in part by the war in Ukraine by simplifying permitting processes for renewable energy projects. In the neighbouring Czech Republic, for example, the adoption of Lex OZE classified renewable energy installations above 1 MW as investments in the public interest, thereby removing the requirement to amend local zoning plans. Other EU countries have designated so-called “go-to areas” in which renewable energy projects benefit from a simplified permitting regime. Slovakia is expected to follow a similar path in the nearest future.

Outlined trends taken together, electricity sharing, the binding 2030 renewable energy target, the rapid expansion of battery storage, and the emerging wind energy sector point to a Slovak renewable energy market that is maturing quickly, both commercially and technically. The 2030 target of a 19.2% renewable share in gross final energy consumption sets the overarching benchmark against which all of these developments are measured. Electricity sharing is beginning to unlock more flexible commercial structures for delivering renewable electricity to offtakers, moving the market beyond a strict reliance on on-site generation and consumption. The growth of battery storage – whether physical or virtual – is providing the flexibility needed to make renewable generation more reliable, more valuable, and easier to integrate into the grid. And the long-awaited expansion of wind energy, backed by substantial investment commitments and regulatory reform, has the potential to add a significant new dimension to Slovakia’s renewable generation mix.

Continued progress will depend on further regulatory refinement – in particular measures to reduce network tariffs and distribution costs for electricity sharing, the streamlining of permitting procedures for wind energy projects, and sustained financial support for storage deployment through instruments such as the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Environmental Fund and the Modernisation Fund. As these pieces fall into place, Slovakia’s renewable energy sector is well positioned to accelerate its contribution towards the country’s 2030 climate commitments.