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Solar power plants in Slovakia

Extensive areas of land are dotted with solar collectors, under which sheep graze peacefully. The valleys are full of wind turbines, roofs of houses are covered with solar panels, cars run on electricity. Energy is produced using wind, sun, water, tides, heat escaping from fissures of the earth; biomass is used to create heat, electricity and fuel...

All this without burdening the environment with emissions and without problems associated with radioactive waste. This is what power production on earth might look like in the near future. You're not a believer?

Energy of the Future

According to some experts, there are enough so-called renewable (or alternative) energy sources that can meet the consumption needs of all economic sectors and in almost every country. There is a multitude of reasons to prefer these sources – they are ecologically clean, do not pollute the environment and do not harm human health. In contrast to the currently used fossil fuels, they can never be depleted, and if we compare them with nuclear power, they are undoubtedly safer.

The principle and inexhaustible source of power for the next 5 million years will be our sun, from which we get all our renewable energy resources. Plants, which are used as biomass for the production of energy, need the sun to grow. Wind is the result of the uneven heating of the earth's surface, and the sun's radiation, together with the gravitational forces of the earth, creates the water cycle movements. Energy can obviously be created directly from the sun's rays – whether into heat, hot water or electricity.

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Our unstable sun

The amount of sunlight that falls to the ground every year far exceeds the global consumption needs of even northern countries. The only problem is that energy from the sun can be produced only when the sun is shining. Solar power plant output varies during the day, and it is also affected by weather conditions. This is why the power from the sun is considered an unstable resource. The same thing applies to energy obtained from wind power. Distributors are required to provide constant and stable power to the electric network, but with a risk of cloudy days or days when there is no wind – there must always be other sources of backup electric power that are produced by conventional means.

Addressing the problem of „energy storage“, the world is nevertheless moving forward in the production and use of alternative sources of energy. Storage batteries for domestic use should come onto the market as early as next year.

Opponents of „green energy“ always mention the great impact this energy will have on the pocketbooks of consumers. Governments often subsidize energy produced by alternative sources, because it costlier that conventional energy, which eventually translates into higher overall energy costs. The more electricity that is produced by the so-called „green sources“, the more expensive the energy becomes. Annually this translates into only 5–10 Euros extra for a family of four – however, over time, conventional electricity prices should increase, while green energy electricity prices should come down.

The sun is shining even in Slovakia

Although at first glance it might seem that Slovakia does not have the best conditions to use solar energy, nevertheless renewable energy from the sun is being used in our country as well.

Last year more than ten large solar power plants, with a total capacity of 213 kilowatts, were connected to the electric power grids. Many more plants are under construction, and in the next two years another 36 new solar power plants will be added.

Most of the energy from the sun is being produced in western Slovakia. On the roof of a technical secondary school in Dúbravka, a suburb of Bratislava, there is a small solar power plant, the Mathematics and Physics Faculty building in the Comenius University has another, and then there is also the UN building in downtown Bratislava. In March of this year, a power plant was added in Kľúčovec, and another should start operating in Čereňany in May. Central Slovakia had only one solar power plant last year, in Vyšný Kubín, but early this year construction started on a new one in Buzitka near Lučenec. In eastern Slovakia there were solar power plants connected to the power grid, mostly located on the roofs of private family residences.

Restrictions by the State

How many more plants will there be in the future, or will there be any new ones is the real issue. The initial boom has collided with the regulations of the state, especially in the construction of large power plants. The reasons for this move were the concerns raised about energy security and the reliability of the electricity network – since electricity generated from the sun is not stable.

Until now, an approval certificate was needed only for the construction of solar power plants producing more that one megawatt of electricity, the new Energy Act now exempts only investors who place solar power on their buildings and produce less than 100 kW of electricity. Starting this May, it will be possible to build only small plants, and these will require approval by the Slovak Electricity Transmission System Operator (SEPS), as well as a certificate from the Ministry of the Economy. In addition to the bureaucratic red tape, the SEPS has also dampened the growth of solar power plants by allocating only 120 megawatts for solar power generation. Certificates for the next two years were assigned within a few days after this limit was announced, yet the number of applicants was three times greater. Despite the large initial investment that is needed, given the fifteen-year guarantee of buying power at favourable prices, which is currently in effect, a solar power plant is quite a profitable business. New plants will be built mainly in eastern Slovakia – in Zemplínske Hradište, Moldava nad Bodvou, Čečejovce, Nový Ruskov and in southern Slovakia – in Hurbanovo, Rimavská Sobota, Rimavské Janovce, Tornaľa, and around Lučenec in Buzitka, Ratka, Holiša and Poltár.

Renewable energy sources certainly have a great potential in Slovakia. According to environmentalists, if the State would take a serious interest in the matter – then by 2020, up to 70% of our energy needs could be met by renewable resources. Our country has committed to produce 14% of its energy needs from renewable resources by 2020, which is twice more than the figure today.