Small solar power plants in Czechia increased electricity generation by 172% year on year last year

Small photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of no more than ten kilowatts increased their electricity generation in Czechia by 172 percent year on year last year, to 0.72 terawatt-hours (TWh). Most of this output was consumed where it was generated, typically in households, for example. The Czech Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) reported this today.

A total of 76.9 TWh of electricity was generated in the Czech Republic last year, 9.2 percent less than the year before. Small solar power plants thus accounted for just under one percent of the country’s gross electricity generation.

“What is impressive, however, is the year-on-year growth in their installed capacity and output. Between 2022 and 2023, the installed capacity of this type of power source increased by 158 percent, while electricity generation rose by as much as 172 percent. The figures clearly demonstrate the boom in rooftop solar installations over the past two years,” said Stanislav Trávníček, chair of the ERÚ Council.

Of the 0.72 TWh of electricity generated annually, small photovoltaic installations fed 0.3 TWh into the grid. More than 58 percent of their total output was therefore consumed directly where it was generated, mainly in households and at the businesses that installed the solar power plants.

ERÚ data also show that development is significantly slower for higher-capacity photovoltaic sources. “For example, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power plants with an output of more than one megawatt increased by just 1.7 percent year on year, while their electricity generation even fell slightly,” Trávníček noted.

Overall, however, electricity generation in Czechia fell last year, down 9.2 percent year on year to 76.9 TWh. The decline was particularly evident in generation from coal and natural gas. Renewable sources, by contrast, increased total generation by five percent. Nuclear energy still accounts for the largest share of electricity generation, producing 40 percent of the total.

A record 82,799 new solar power sources were commissioned in the Czech Republic last year, 49,039 more than in 2022. Installed capacity also grew significantly, by 970 megawatts (MW). Solar energy development has slowed this year, however. In the first half of this year, 24,000 new photovoltaic power plants were commissioned, 21,200 fewer than in the same period last year. Installed capacity nevertheless fell by just 0.5 percent year on year, to 484 megawatts (MW), as the average size of newly connected power plants continues to increase.

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