Slovakia: electricity from biogas — the top-up, the fuel cost correction and prices in 2026

Slovak producers of electricity from biogas receive a top-up to the price from the state for 15 years under Act 309/2009, and in 2026 the purchase price lies, according to the Slovak biogas association SBA, in a range of EUR 194–208/MWh, depending on the year the installation was commissioned. Despite this, operating support in its current form is coming to an end: further extension of the top-ups is not planned, except for cogeneration.

The top-up: structure and level

Support is granted as a top-up to the energy price (doplatok) and lasts 15 years. According to SBA, in the first phase of the programme, for installations commissioned in 2010–2013, support was about EUR 107–149/MWh, and in a presentation from May 2026 SBA gives support (the top-up) of about EUR 134–148/MWh for 1 MW units commissioned in 2010–2013. In subsequent years the rate was corrected. Until 2023 the price was neither indexed nor reflected changes in fuel costs, and from 2023 a fuel cost correction (Pzn) has applied.

Fuel cost correction in 2023–2026

According to SBA, the sum of the corrections for 2023–2026 is +EUR 59.93/MWh. For sources commissioned or reconstructed in 2025, the correction for 2026 is −EUR 18.03/MWh. The negative value in 2026 means that the correction lowers the price this year, unlike in the three previous years. The purchase price range of EUR 194–208/MWh is, in zloty, about PLN 820–880/MWh (at a rate of about PLN 4.25 per euro, indicative, 2026).

Scale of the sector

According to SBA, in May 2026 the OKTE register listed 87 of 109 biogas plants and 5 biomethane plants, and 85 biogas plants are active. Electricity production was 522,306.99 MWh in 2024 and 521,156.77 MWh in 2025, i.e. a stable approximately 0.52 TWh a year. SBA has 59 members.

What after the top-ups end

The top-up for most biogas plants ends in 2025–2028. The association prepared forecasts of production after the end of support in a chart which, alongside actual data, shows three scenarios after support ends: optimistic (70%), conservative (35%) and pessimistic (0%); the slide does not explain what exactly these percentages refer to. Further work requires modernisation and changes to Act 309/2009, described in the article Slovakia: top-ups are ending.

Biomethane as an alternative

For biomethane SBA describes three pillars: the national energy and climate plan (target of 200 million m³ a year), investment support from the National Recovery Plan and the Slovakia programme. The recovery plan supported 10 projects converting biogas plants into biomethane plants; in May 2026 four of them were completed, and five biomethane plants (including Jelšava with a capacity of 600 m³ of biomethane per hour and Veľké Bierovce at 440 m³/h) were being commissioned; the presentation does not settle whether these are the same facilities as the five biomethane plants in the OKTE register. A grid connection within 4 km is financed at 75% of costs by the grid operator SPP-D, up to a maximum of EUR 250 thousand. According to SBA, the planned value of the call in the Slovakia programme was significantly reduced, from EUR 65 million to EUR 15 million, and the announcement was postponed to the turn of 2026 and 2027. Among the obstacles the association lists the need to prove profitability to banks, the volatility of gas and guarantee of origin prices, and the high costs of propanisation.

Support for cogeneration

The only form of new operating support is high-efficiency cogeneration: for a new source of up to 1 MW SBA cites a rate of EUR 201.38/MWh (ÚRSO Decree No. 154/2024). National targets for biomethane are 200 million m³ a year (an ambitious scenario of 300 million m³ by 2030), but SBA points out that there is still no operating support for biomethane.

Comparison

Slovakia has a top-up support period of 15 years, and the purchase price in 2026 (EUR 194–208/MWh according to SBA) is slightly higher than the average from the German tender of October 2025, which was 18.11 ct/kWh, i.e. about EUR 181/MWh (Germany: the tender of 1 October 2025). The difference is that the German price is set by the tender bid, and the Slovak one by the mechanism of Act 309/2009 and subsequent fuel cost corrections.

Scale and predictability

The purchase price of EUR 194–208/MWh depends on the year of commissioning, so the payment for older and newer installations is not the same.

According to SBA, the sum of the annual corrections (8.92 + 41.24 + 31.06 − 21.29) is +EUR 59.93/MWh, and after three positive years the correction in 2026 is negative. With production of about 0.52 TWh a year and about 85 active biogas plants, average production per installation is about 6.1 GWh a year (the quotient of the two figures). According to SBA, biogas plants that want to maintain production after the top-ups expire need modernisation, and this requires changes to Act 309/2009 (see the post on the December 2025 amendment).