DistantNews
Support us
Decarbonization is Out, Energy Security is In
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia /Energy & Infrastructure

Decarbonization is Out, Energy Security is In

From Delo · () Slovenian

Translated from Slovenian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Experts in Slovenia and Europe increasingly view ambitious renewable energy goals as unachievable.
  • Reliance on intermittent sources like solar power raises concerns about energy security during low production periods.
  • Natural gas is crucial for system stability, especially as gas storage replenishment lags behind demand.

Slovenian and European energy experts are questioning the feasibility of solely relying on renewable energy sources (RES). Peter ล tih, president of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU), warns against putting all eggs in one basket. Slovenia has committed to increasing its RES share to 33% by 2030 and 42% by 2040.

Bruno Glaser, CEO of Gen energija, highlights the vulnerability of the grid to weather conditions. "On a sunny day, solar power plants produce most of the electricity in the grid. Now, imagine a large cloud covering Slovenia. Where will we get electricity?" he asks. In early May, solar power plants in Slovenia generated more electricity than all other sources combined for several hours.

Matija Bitenc, director of Plinovodi, pointed out the critical role of natural gas. On January 8, electricity consumption hit a record 2300 megawatts (MW), while gas consumption on January 12 reached 3336 MW โ€“ ten times the output of Slovenia's part of the Krลกko Nuclear Power Plant. Gas ensures system robustness, but gas storage facilities are refilling too slowly. The EU has 1100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas storage capacity.

On a sunny day, solar power plants produce most of the electricity in the grid. Now, imagine a large cloud covering Slovenia. Where will we get electricity?

โ€” Bruno GlaserBusiness director of Gen energija, questioning the reliability of solar power.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Delo in Slovenian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog