ČEZ to invest 200 million Kč in modernizing the Kořensko and Lipno II power plants in Czechia

ČEZ will begin modernizing two hydropower plants on the Vltava River in South Bohemia this year. At a cost of 200 million Kč, it will replace the turbines, generators and control systems at the Kořensko and Lipno II power plants. The aim is to make operations more efficient and environmentally friendly. Both plants are expected to return to full operation in spring 2027, ČEZ Group spokesperson Martin Schreier said in a press release today.

For Kořensko, in the České Budějovice area, this will be the biggest modernization in its 32 years of operation; for Lipno II, in the Český Krumlov area, it will be the first in 69 years. The winners of the tenders to supply the modernization work at both plants will be selected by the end of the first half of the year.

„We will replace the turbines and install new generators and control systems, reduce the plants’ own consumption and make their operations more environmentally friendly by reducing the volume of oil used in the new high-pressure hydraulics. After the modernization, both plants will generate thousands of additional megawatt-hours of clean electricity each year from the same volume of water, thanks to greater efficiency of the generating units,“ said Róbert Heczko, director of ČEZ’s hydropower plants.

Lipno II has one generating unit with a capacity of 1.5 megawatts (MW) and, with a reservoir capacity of 1.68 million cubic metres, regulates the flow from the larger Lipno I power plant. Kořensko, with two generating units and a total capacity of 3.8 MW, is located near the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant and harnesses the natural flow of the Vltava below its confluence with the Lužnice.

In recent years, ČEZ has invested more than 1.5 billion Kč in modernizing more than half of the generating units at its Vltava power plants. „Applying the latest scientific findings has enabled us to improve the safety and efficiency of generation and extend the plants’ lifespans by decades. On the Vltava, we have modernized the Lipno I, Kamýk, Slapy and Vrané power plants, which generated emissions-free electricity for 200.000 households last year,“ said Jan Kalina, ČEZ board member and director of its renewable and conventional energy division. In the coming years, the company plans to complete the refurbishment of Hněvkovice and modernize Štěchovice and Orlík in Central Bohemia.

Over the past 15 years, ČEZ has invested more than 4.5 billion Kč in modernizing generating units at more than 20 large, small and pumped-storage hydropower plants, including Lipno, Dlouhé stráně, Slapy, Kamýk, Mohelno and Dalešice. As a result, the plants have increased their average efficiency by up to around five percentage points. The refurbished hydropower units have a total capacity of more than 1400 MW, roughly three-quarters of the capacity of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant.

„The value and importance of these investments are also growing in light of increasingly frequent periods of drought and the generally uncertain climate conditions of recent years. Modernized plants can generate the same amount of electricity using less water,“ Schreier added.