New buildings with a roof area over 1,000 square metres and new car parks with a surface area exceeding that size will as a rule have to have solar panels installed under new rules that came into force on 13 April.

Exempt from the rule will be facilities where connection to the electricity grid is not possible, the location or exposure to the sun is inadequate or the purpose or type of the facility is not appropriate.

Solar panels will also not be obligatory for buildings that cannot carry the weight of a photovoltaic installation or for projects where the solar panels would significantly raise the costs.

The structures affected are mainly commercial buildings and public infrastructure, not residential buildings, Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning Jože Novak told reporters last week.

The rules, introduced by a government regulation, also set out where it is possible to set up solar power plants.

These will be allowed on existing buildings, facades, balconies and car parks regardless of their size as well as in the wide areas of roads, railways, electricity production facilities and landfills.

Solar panels will also be allowed in areas of future industrial zones.

Incentives, but no fines

Novak hopes that the various incentives offered by the state would be enough for investors to set up solar panels voluntarily.

No fines are envisaged, but the investors obligated to set up solar panels who will not follow the new rules will not get a construction permit.

The government regulation is based on a 2023 law designed to expedite the deployment of renewable electricity generation facilities.

The rules will be superior to municipal spatial plans and will directly apply all over the country, which is to speed up and simplify procedures, Novak said.

For any bigger solar power plants outside building land, spatial plans will still have to be changed, and the public will have to be included in such procedures.

The law and regulation were required to enable Slovenia to draw funds from the EU mechanism for post-pandemic recovery.

Many issues still open

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) has welcomed the regulation but warned that its provisions on demands for existing facilities on what is classified as priority areas are vague.

"We fear that there could be problems in preparing and assessing exemptions with a feasibility study," said Antonija Božič Cerar from the GZS's department for environment, climate and energy.

Another problem is the distribution network, which does not allow for new photovoltaic plants in some locations, the GZS said, although the regulation lists such areas as an exception.

In 2022, 12,698 solar power plants with a total capacity of 227.6 megawatts (MW) were connected to the grid in Slovenia and 18,034 solar power plants with a total capacity of 411.8 MW in 2023.

In total, 49,092 solar power plants with a total capacity of 1,104.5 MW were in the system on 31 December 2023. In the last two years, two-thirds of the country's solar power generation installations have been connected to the grid.

Aim to meet EU renewables targets

The national programme for the use of EU cohesion funds for the period 2021-2027 sets aside €60 million for solar electricity generation.

The state-owned electricity market operator Borzen offers €105 million in incentives for renewable energy sources and another €45 million will be available when the new energy law is passed and in the future another €75 million.

Bojan Kumer, the minister of the environment, climate and energy, has said his ministry set aside €20 million for equipping municipal buildings with solar panels with more funds to be allocated for the purpose if necessary.

He hopes this will be enough for Slovenia to reach the EU goals on renewable energy use at least until the end of this government term so it will no longer have to pay for statistic transfers to other EU member states.