Slovenia to Launch Sophisticated System of Feed-in Tariffs in 2009

July 16, 2009

By Paul Gipe

Slovenia, the first independent country recognized after the breakup of Yugoslavia, was expected to launch a sophisticated system of feed-in tariffs on July 12, 2009. However, the program has been delayed while it is under review by European Union officials.

The proposed program is as sophisticated, if not more so, than that in other former east block countries and exceeds that of any North American jurisdiction where a program is currently in effect.

Both Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have relatively comprehensive feed-in tariff policies. Ukraine has recently strengthened its policy as well. Hungary and Slovakia administer relatively simple programs.

The Ontario and Vermont programs have not yet gone into effect.

The Washington State program is a form of production incentive.

California's "feed-in tariff" is in operation but is less sophisticated than the 1991 German policy and has proven largely ineffective.

The small Alpine country of two million was one of the early members of the International Feed-in (Tariff) Cooperation (Council) that includes founding members Germany and Spain. Details on the proposed program were presented at the last meeting in Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana.

The Slovenian program is following the progression of its northern European neighbors and has moved from a simple feed-in tariff to a system of Advanced Renewable Tariffs like those found in Germany, France, and Spain. The new program uses a complex and highly differentiated system of tariffs and bonus payments.

The Slovenian tariffs are not unsurprisingly similar to those proposed in Ontario's new feed-in tariff program that is expected to be launched sometime in August, 2009. Slovenia, like Ontario, doesn't have national subsidies that distort the tariffs.

• Small wind: €0.95 ($0.151 CAD/kWh, $0.13 USD/kWh)
• Large wind: €0.87 ($0.138 CAD/kWh, $0.118 USD/kWh)
• Small rooftop solar PV: €0.415 ($0.659 CAD/kWh, $0.567 USD/kWh)
• Ground-mounted Solar PV less than 10 MW 0. 29 ($0.460 CAD/kWh, $0.396 USD/kWh)

The program guarantees a purchase price (fixed tariff) for projects up to 5 MW. For projects greater than 5 MW a premium or bonus system is used. Total payments are intended to equal the Reference Cost of Electricity from renewable technologies but the tariff is not fixed.

In comparison to Slovenia's earlier program, the revised policy

• Increases the length of contracts to 15 years,
• Increases the project size cap to 125 MW,
• Increases the transparency and predictability of the tariffs,
• Stipulates a review of technology costs every five years, and
• Implements a seven percent Solar PV tariff degression through the year 2013.

Slovenia has taken the concept of differentiating tariffs by project size to a new level of sophistication and broke down all technologies into four size categories

• Micro: <50 kW
• Small: <1,000 kW
• Medium: 1-10 MW
• Large: 10-125 MW

New Feed-in System in Slovenia

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