Slovakia added 274 MW of PV in 2024

Last year’s solar additions, led by installations in the commercial and industrial sector, took Slovakia’s cumulative solar capacity to over 1 GW.

Slovakia added 274 MW of solar in 2024, according to figures from the Slovak Association of the Photovoltaic Industry (SAPI).

The result is a slight increase on 2023 levels, when a total 267 MW was installed. Ján Karaba, director of the association, told pv magazine last year's deployment consisted of 113.6 MW of residential solar, 142.7 MW of commercial-scale solar and 17.7 MW of utility-scale solar.

The country’s cumulative solar capacity now stands at over 1.1 GW. Karaba said he expects around 300 MW of solar to be added both this year and next.

The main drivers in Slovakia’s solar market last year were electricity prices in the unregulated sectors, comprising businesses and all consumers above 30 MWh annually, Karaba added, as well as EU financial subsidies for households and small to medium-sized enterprises.

Slovakia hosted no auctions last year, instead replaced by subsidies from the EU Commission’s recovery and resilience facility and other EU structural funds, including the modernization fund.

When asked what he would change to support Slovakia’s solar market, Karaba suggested getting rid of the so-called G-charge, a fee paid monthly to distribution system operators imposed on producers with direct connection to the grid.

Karaba added that the market would benefit from an acceleration of permitting procedueres, suggesting a complete digitization of the zoning and construction permit process, as well as an overhaul of the agricultural land usage legislation.

In February last year, Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Denisa Sakova, signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan's Sekisui Chemical to explore the possibility of producing flexible photovoltaic panels in the country.