Czech distributors have connected 20,700 solar installations so far this year, down 40% year on year

The decline in new solar power plant installations in Czechia is continuing. In the first three quarters of this year, distributors connected 20,700 new photovoltaic systems across the country, 40% fewer year on year. The total capacity of new facilities also fell by around a third compared with last year. This continues the trend from last year, when interest, particularly among households, began to decline sharply. This follows from distributors’ responses to questions from ČTK. More than 230,000 photovoltaic power plants are connected in the Czech Republic.

All distributors have reported a significant decline in new installations, consistently of around 40%. In the first nine months of this year, ČEZ Distribuce connected 13,575 photovoltaic power plants with installed capacity of 383.5 megawatts (MW). More than three-quarters of these were small installations of up to ten kilowatts (kW) connected at the low-voltage level. According to the company, more than 87% of installations are equipped with battery storage.

Around 6,250 photovoltaic power plants with capacity of 144 MW were newly connected to the EG.D distribution grid this year. Systems of up to ten kW also predominate at the second-largest distributor, with approximately 4,600 connected so far. Companies accounted for almost a fifth of installations.

The number of new solar power plant installations is also gradually declining in Prague. In the first three quarters of this year, PREdistribuce connected 875 photovoltaic systems in the capital, with total capacity of 15.4 MW. These are predominantly household photovoltaic systems connected at the low-voltage level, said Karel Hanzelka, spokesperson for Pražská energetika.

Interest in connecting new solar power plants has been declining for a second year. Last year, 44,593 new photovoltaic systems were commissioned in Czechia, 38,106 fewer year on year. According to experts, the reason is primarily lower demand from households. They say this market is already saturated following the previous record years. Construction of larger facilities, by contrast, is growing slightly.