Construction of photovoltaic power plants in the Czech Republic is moving from family houses to company roofs

As of the end of June this year, 191,400 photovoltaic power plants with a total installed capacity of 3.94 GWp were in operation in the Czech Republic. In the first half of the year, 23,874 plants with a total capacity of 484 MWp were added.

Compared to the first half of 2023, this means a drop in the number of new installations by more than 21,000, but the newly installed capacity remained almost at last year's level, decreasing by only 3 MWp. The reason for these changes is the decline in demand for small rooftop power plants on houses, and on the contrary a significant increase in interest in building PV plants on company premises. These are fewer in number but usually have a higher output. In terms of installed capacity, the boom that started in 2022 is continuing. At the end of this year, the Solar Association estimates that the capacity of all photovoltaic power plants in the Czech Republic should reach 4,500 MWp.

In the regional comparison, the largest number of photovoltaic power plants was added in the Central Bohemia Region in the first half of this year, with 4,735 power plants with a capacity of 73 MWp put into operation. The second place was occupied by the South Moravian Region with 2,784 power plants with a capacity of 56 MWp, the third position was held by the Moravian-Silesian Region, where 2,291 power plants with a capacity of 38 MWp were installed.

Photovoltaic power plants in the Czech Republic

Interest in batteries has declined

Of the PV plants installed in the first half of this year, 85 % are equipped with a battery for energy storage. Last year, 91 % were installed. This decline is also attributed to the shift of PV development to the corporate segment, where the interest in storage is lower. Of the new corporate installations, 58 % are using the battery, while 87 % are on single-family homes. The average storage size is 13.7 kWh and the total capacity of batteries in combination with PV in the Czech Republic is 1705 MWh. Large-scale battery storage systems that are also connected to non-solar sources have a total capacity of about 55 MWh.

A large number of solar power plants in our country benefit from subsidy support. Almost CZK 30 billion has already been paid out from the New Green Savings Programme for the construction of photovoltaic power plants from 2019 to the end of June this year, and CZK 6 billion more has been approved for payment. Support from the Operational Programme Environment reached almost CZK 400 million. CZK 400.

CSO/ gnews - RoZ

ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO - pixabay