Prague to have 20 times more solar power plants within seven years. See how their numbers have grown so far

The capacity of photovoltaic power plants in Prague currently stands at 24.5 megawatts. By 2030, it is expected to increase to around 500 megawatts.

“We are currently working with the approved Climate Plan of the Capital City of Prague, which estimates potential capacity by 2030 at nearly 500 MWp. A significant share is expected to come from installations on buildings owned by Prague, as well as on private apartment buildings, at the premises of municipal companies and similar sites,” says Jaroslav Klusák, head of the Prague Renewable Energy Community. The abbreviation MWp denotes the maximum possible capacity of a facility.

Data analyst Martin Dvořák mapped the development of photovoltaics in Prague for Ekonews based on data from the Energy Regulatory Office. Prague’s current energy strategy covered the period from 2013 to 2023. This year, Prague City Hall is expected to publish an outlook for the coming years.

The current document assumes that the realistic potential for expanding photovoltaic power plants is around 174 megawatts, of which solar installations on family homes should account for 43 MWe and photovoltaics on apartment buildings for around 81 MWe. According to Klusák, however, Prague’s valid climate plan already envisages the aforementioned higher potential.

Prague City Hall did not respond to questions regarding the revision of the energy strategy and referred Ekonews to the Prague Renewable Energy Community.

Power plants are growing in Vyšehrad and Vinoř

One reason why Prague has so far had less solar capacity than Brno, the Czech Republic’s second-largest city, is that there are no large photovoltaic power plants in its territory. The largest so far is Enfinity’s 5.5-megawatt park in Horní Počernice. Further projects are now being prepared, for example on the roof of the Prague Congress Centre in Vyšehrad and at Pražská strojírna in Vinoř, on the northeastern edge of the city.

The roof of the Congress Centre can accommodate two thousand panels with a total capacity of one megawatt. The company producing rails and switches for tram lines will have a power plant of similar size on its roof.

“The photovoltaic plant at Pražská strojírna is now under construction and will be completed within a few weeks. It will then undergo trial operation. Further legislative steps, such as final approval and obtaining a licence, will realistically take another two to three months, says Miroslav Calda, owner of Atlantis Management, which is installing the solar power plant.

The construction is also organised by the Prague Renewable Energy Community, whose main aim is to put solar installations on buildings owned by the Capital City of Prague. “For example, we are preparing a photovoltaic installation supported by the Modernisation Fund, with an installed capacity of one MWp, at the premises of Pražské služby,” says Klusák.

155 power plants expected to be added this year

The organisation was established last year and, according to Klusák, built three generating facilities, has ten under construction and has prepared documentation for more than forty. “Like other companies, we encountered constraints in the availability of materials and installation firms,” he explained. The company had originally planned to bring 35 power plants into operation last year.

This year, the Prague Renewable Energy Community would like to build 155 generating facilities. According to Klusák, interest is mainly coming from apartment buildings, city districts, municipal buildings and municipal companies. “In total, we have registered around 900 parties interested in photovoltaics. We are gradually assessing their buildings and preparing technical and energy assessments, which will be handed over to implementation companies,” he says.

Interest is also being helped by the fact that, from next year, it should be possible to share electricity within community energy schemes. Only approval of the key Lex OZE 2 law is still awaited. “We are also preparing to share and supply surplus electricity purchased by us to metering points owned by the Capital City of Prague,” Klusák adds.

Republished from EkoNews.cz, a website covering business and sustainability.