Czech ministry proposal: People could install solar plants with five times the capacity

The capacity threshold for smaller solar power plants above which their owners must apply for an electricity generation licence and obtain a trade licence could rise from 10 to 50 kW. The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes this in an amendment to the Energy Act. Hospodářské noviny (HN) drew attention to the proposal. The bill is now entering the consultation process, which will run until 21 September.

Households and companies could therefore more easily install power plants with up to five times the capacity currently possible. Owners would also not have to apply for a building permit, which is currently required for plants with a capacity above 20 kW. „Building modifications for the installation of a renewable energy source with a total installed capacity of up to 50 kW that forms part of a building, provided that it does not interfere with the building's load-bearing structures and does not change the way the building is used, will not require a building permit or notification to the building authority,“ the explanatory report accompanying the amendment states.

The ministry writes that the reason for submitting the amendment and providing greater support for the use of renewable energy sources is the current situation on energy markets and efforts to reduce dependence on fuel imports from Russia.

According to HN, experts have long called for raising the capacity threshold for small power plants installed by households and companies, for example. Solar Association estimates suggest that more than 9,000 owners of solar power plants staying below the 10 kW threshold will connect to the grid this year. „For many of them, the current threshold is insufficient and they would like to put more solar panels on their roofs. Ten kilowatts is particularly inadequate for apartment buildings, while it is also too little for energy sharing within community energy schemes or for households with an electric car,“ Jan Krčmář, director of the Solar Association, told HN. In his view, the government's proposal to raise the threshold is good news, but it is not enough to achieve greater growth in electricity generation from renewable sources.

The Community Energy Union, which welcomes the current amendment, also says that further barriers to connecting renewable sources to the grid need to be removed and aggregate metering introduced. According to the union, a fundamental change is missing that would enable the establishment of energy communities and the sharing of locally generated electricity.

In a press release, the union also noted that generating facilities up to 50 kW will have to meet requirements set by a decree, but it is not yet clear what those requirements will be. „The exemptions in the area of building permits are to apply only to generating facilities that ‚form part of a building‘. In practice, however, this would rule out, for example, an owner of a generating facility renting someone else's roof on which to install their own solar panels, which would greatly complicate the development of community energy schemes,“ the union warned.