Renewables produce a third of Slovenia's electricity
Ljubljana - A third of Slovenia's electricity output was generated with renewables last year, as renewable electricity generation rose in both the EU and Slovenia, the Statistics Office (SURS) said on Wednesday prior to the 25-29 October EU Sustainable Energy Week.
At the EU level, electricity production from renewable energy sources in 2020 exceeded production from fossil fuels for the first time, according to preliminary data.
The bulk of Slovenia's electricity was generated by its only nuclear plant (37%), followed by thermal power stations (30.5%) and hydro power stations (30.4%).
A mere 2.2% came from sun and wind, although the share of electricity from photovoltaic systems and wind farms is increasing.
A total of 5,600 gigawatt hours of electricity was produced from renewables, the majority by hydro power stations (93%) and the rest by solar and wind power stations.
End consumption of electricity in Slovenia was decreasing in 2010-2014, then increasing until 2018, only to start decreasing against in the last two years. In 2020, it was 13% below that in 2010.
Annual comparisons show that the decrease in end energy consumption in Slovenia was the largest in 2020, when it fell by 9% over 2019.
The biggest drop was recorded in transport (-18%), which the statisticians attributed to Covid-19 restrictions.
In the EU, the amount of electricity generated by photovoltaic systems increased the most in 2020 - by almost 16% compared to 2019. The rise in wind-generated electricity and in hydro power was meanwhile at 8%
Power from renewables accounted for 19.7% of the EU's gross end consumption in 2019, whereas the bloc's goal for 2020 was 20%.