Solar boom picks up pace. Přibyla: Czechia must respond to global change

Solar power plants worldwide double their generation output every three years. This is the result of a global shift away from fossil fuels. Electric mobility is also rising steeply. It represents a global transformation, and Czechia should respond to it, Ondráš Přibyla, director of the Facts about Climate project, said on the discussion programme Noon with Moravec.

According to him, the situation in the world, in energy and in transport is linked to climate change caused by fossil fuels and the shift away from them. While photovoltaic plants generated 2500 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity last year, this is expected to reach 5000 TWh in 2028 and 10,000 TWh in 2031. Data, according to Přibyla, show that the number of electric cars sold also doubles every three years.

"This is the situation we are in, and this is the situation through which the whole Czech Republic, perhaps all of Europe, needs to navigate so that we come through it well," Přibyla said.

According to him, it is not possible to focus on just one aspect brought by climate change, such as drought. "Fighting drought on its own is nonsense. It is not some heroic achievement, although politicians would like to present it that way," Přibyla said. According to him, what is needed above all is to change agricultural practices in fields and retain water in the soil.

Drought caused problems for nuclear power plants in Hungary and Romania this year. MEP Luděk Niedermayer (TOP 09) said in the discussion today that Czechia lacks a debate on whether there will be enough water for the development of nuclear technologies and how much electricity will actually cost.

According to data from Noon with Moravec, the energy sector consumed 381.2 million cubic metres of water in 2024, or about 30 percent of Czechia's total consumption. It is unclear whether water consumption by power plants will decline as droughts recur. "Instead, we now have an ideology here that the problem does not exist," Niedermayer said.