Slovenia has placed 14th among 128 countries in the World Energy Council’s 2020 Energy Trilemma Index, which ranks countries by their ability to provide sustainable energy. The country has fallen two spots compared with the year before, but the methodology has changed.
The London-based World Energy Council gauges countries’ energy systems through three dimensions: energy security, energy equity (accessibility and affordability) and environmental sustainability, with grade A being the best.
The list continues to be topped by European countries, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark. Slovenia scored 78.2 points, which gives it a balance grade of ABAa, which compares to Switzerland’s 84.3 points and balance grade of AAAa.
Slovenia scored 67.9 points for energy security, while Canada, the top-ranking country on that dimension, scored 77.1 points.
For energy equity, Slovenia scored 93.4 points, which compares to 99.9 points of the top scorer Luxembourg.
The country collected 77 points for environmental sustainability, 13 points below the score of Switzerland as the top-ranking country.
“Slovenia has done well again,” Ivan Šmon of the Slovenian Energy Chamber has commented, adding that the methodology has changed again so it is impossible to compare the score directly to last year’s survey in which Slovenia placed 12th.
Šmon said Slovenia was trying to boost its energy security by diversifying sources, although it continued to depend considerably on energy imports.
Despite the high score in energy equity, the country has regressed on that dimension because of a hike in electricity and gas prices in 2019.
Slovenia’s challenges in environmental sustainability include its energy intensive industry, although the survey notes progress in energy efficiency.