Photovoltaics (PV) in Slovakia has a history of 20 years. While irradiance conditions are comparable with those of European countries with strongly developed PV, the applications and the results are very different. The first steps in the PV research were carried out in the 1980s at university and academic level. But in spite of this, the results of PV applications and installations has been poor. At present just over 10 kW of PV stand alone installations have been installed. At both, the Slovak University of Technology and Slovak Academy of Sciences, research activities were focussed on monocrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, gallium arsenide PV cells, investigation of degradation processes in solar cells and modules. Barriers to supporting and funding the development of PV R&D and PV market in Slovakia result from technological, economical and regulatory causes. The possibilities for the future development of PV in Slovakia are closely connected with the cooperation within RTD activities of New Member States, Candidate States (NMSaCS) and EU-15 Member States and in more appropriate energy policy in Slovakia. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.