Prague continues planning a heating energy centre, with costs running into billions

Prague’s leadership will soon decide whether to commission a project for an energy centre at the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant (ÚČOV) on Císařský Island, which is expected to use heat from treated water to provide heating for a large part of the left bank of the Vltava in the future. Jan Chabr (TOP 09), chair of the Prague City Assembly’s energy committee, told CTK. He added that the current estimated construction cost is around six billion crowns, and the city could obtain more than half of the funding from EU funds.

The energy centre will be able to capture surplus heat from water processed at the ÚČOV using heat exchangers, reducing the capital’s dependence on the Mělník coal-fired power plant, which provides heating for a large share of Prague households. According to Chabr, this could provide heating for tens of thousands of households on the left bank of the Vltava, including a new district planned for the currently unused Bubny-Zátory area.