Act 309/2009 on Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources and High-efficiency Cogeneration, amended by Act 277/2020 (Renewable Energy Act)

The Act is the main instrument to support renewable electricity generation. It defines specific options for support for renewable electricity, including the timeframe of guaranteed price of purchase. It also originally mandated electricity producers with capacity of 50MW to produce electricity with minimum of 20% share of renewable resources. Hydrogen is recognised as a renewable energy source alongside wind, solar, biofuels and biomass. Due to its generous feed-in tariffs for solar energy, Slovakia witnessed an unanticipated 'solar boom' in early 2011. As a result, in February 2011, the size of the solar installations eligible for these subsidies was scaled back to 100kW, and feed-in tariffs were nearly halved compared to 2009. In August 2012, another amendment changed the conditions for producers of electricity from small solar rooftop installations with installed capacities of up to 10 kW. Operators of these installations may now generate electricity for their own use without having to register as an entrepreneur. According to a 2013 amendment, the feed-in tariff will apply only to rooftop photovoltaic installations on with a maximum capacity of 30kW. All larger installations are no longer be covered by the support mechanism. The initial version of the amendment also envisaged promoting high efficiency cogeneration up to an installed capacity of 300MW, but it was eventually revoked. The Act also specifies the quotas for increase in share of biofuels in the transport fuels for individual years between 2011 and 2020. The share of biofuels should reach 8.5% by the end of 2020. In recent years, the support scheme under the Act has been significantly reformed to limit costs and align with EU state aid rules, including a gradual shift away from fixed feed-in tariffs toward more market-based support mechanisms such as auctions and feed-in premiums. Amendments have also tightened eligibility conditions, introduced measures to reduce tariff deficits, and strengthened integration of renewable electricity into the market, reflecting a broader transition from subsidy-driven expansion to a more competitive and system-oriented approach. The amendment 277/2020 in particular brought a partial national transposition of consolidated Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (RED III) on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.