Energy Governance in Slovenia

Abstract

This chapter examines the governance of energy policy in Slovenia, focusing on renewable energy, nuclear energy, and the coal phaseout as the main issues in a country that considers itself one of the leading green countries in the EU, and also aspires to become climate neutral by 2050. Slovenia represents a relatively small energy system with specific challenges on the path to climate neutrality, the most prominent being transport, spatial planning for renewables, the dilemma of the long-term use of nuclear energy, and the coal phaseout. This chapter argues that despite its self-perceived “greenness,” EU membership has had a significant impact on the country. Slovenia needs to overcome a significant gap in strategic policy planning for the period 2010–2020, as well as in implementation, especially in the deployment of renewable energy, to become de facto one of green leaders in the EU. Energy efficiency, nuclear energy, and renewables are traditionally anchored in national energy policy preferences and are expected to remain the backbone of Slovenia’s energy policy while the country decides on its coal-phaseout ambitions.