Czech environment ministry to provide CZK 300 million for solar installations on farmland

The state will provide at least CZK 300 million for the installation of new agrivoltaic power plants, meaning solar power plants on actively farmed agricultural land. The Ministry of the Environment has now announced a new grant call for this purpose. The ministry has a further CZK 200 million in reserve in case of strong interest. The Ministry of the Environment and the State Environmental Fund (SFŽP) announced this in a press release today. Agrivoltaics in Czechia is still at the stage of small pilot projects.

According to caretaker Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL), agrivoltaics offers a major opportunity for cooperation between Czech agriculture and the energy sector. “It allows a single area to produce clean energy while continuing to be used for growing crops. Photovoltaic panels can be installed above orchards, vineyards, hop fields or arable land used to grow vegetables. This significantly increases the overall productivity of the land – protecting crops from extreme weather, improving the microclimate and bringing farmers energy self-sufficiency and lower costs,” Hladík said.

Another major benefit, he said, is that this solution reduces pressure to build solar parks on open or ecologically sensitive land, since the land remains agricultural and can continue to be farmed.

According to the authorities, the grants are intended for the installation of new agrivoltaic power plants with a single connection point to the distribution or transmission grid on actively farmed agricultural land listed in the land registry. Battery storage systems are also eligible for support.

Applications may be submitted by agricultural businesses registered in the Register of Agricultural Entrepreneurs that also farm land listed in the LPIS land registry and hold, or plan to obtain, a licence to generate electricity. Applications can be submitted from 15 January next year until 30 October 2027, or until the funds are exhausted.

“The call is designed to support genuinely effective, technically sound projects. Each installation must have a capacity of at least ten kilowatts, and the support can cover up to 30 percent of eligible costs. The grant amount will depend on the specific parameters of the project – namely, the installed photovoltaic capacity, total costs and any battery storage capacity,” said Petr Valdman, director of the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic.

The grants follow a November amendment to a decree that significantly expanded the conditions for agrivoltaics in Czechia. Under the amendment, agrivoltaic power plants can be installed above orchards, vineyards, hop fields and other permanent crops, and now also above arable land used to grow vegetables that require high or very high labor input. According to the ministry, this covers the vast majority of commonly grown vegetable varieties.