ČEZ's renewable power output in Czechia rose 4.7% in first half

Weather has been favorable for renewable electricity generation this year. ČEZ's green power plants ČEZ generated almost 1.4 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in the first half of the year, up 4.7 percent year on year. This was also the highest output from hydro, solar and wind power in the past 11 years. ČTK was informed of the figures today by ČEZ. Last year, renewables accounted for around five percent of ČEZ's total generation; the share for this year is not yet available.

Total electricity generation from renewable sources in Czechia has grown steadily in recent years, but at around 14 percent two years ago, its overall share still lagged significantly behind the EU average.

„ČEZ's green power plants supplied the most energy to the grid in the past 11 years. Their ability to partially offset one another's output fluctuations was also confirmed once again. While hydropower plants reached their output peak in January and February thanks to a warmer winter, from March onward we saw a significant increase in output from photovoltaics,“ said Jan Kalina, member of the board and director of the Renewable and Conventional Energy Division.

He noted that ČEZ therefore plans to add thousands of megawatts of capacity over the coming years, mainly in solar and wind power, alongside its still-dominant and continually modernized hydropower plants.

According to the company, hydropower plants benefited especially from above-average rainfall in the first quarter, with this trend continuing through the rest of the year. ČEZ's hydropower plants thus increased their output by more than four percent year on year. Solar power plants, which were still down 13 percent year on year in the first quarter, made up the shortfall thanks to a higher number of sunny days later in the year and increased their total output by 7.8 percent year on year in the first half. Output rose the most year on year at wind farms, by 27 percent.

Hydropower plants still account for the largest share of renewable generation. ČEZ noted that it is continuing to modernize them, having invested around CZK 4.5 billion in the work over the past 15 years. „It is becoming clear that modernized plants can use water more efficiently and sustainably. We can therefore generate more zero-emission electricity from the same water flows. The refurbished hydroelectric units have a combined capacity of more than 1400 MW, around three-quarters of the capacity of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant,“ said Robert Heczko, director of operations at ČEZ's hydropower plants.

In recent years, the Lipno, Slapy and Kamýk hydropower plants have been modernized. This year, the company replaced control systems at the Vltava plants at Orlík and Štěchovice, while major repairs costing hundreds of millions of crowns are continuing on one of the two units at the Dlouhé stráně pumped-storage plant.

Renewable energy generation is growing worldwide. Last year, renewables' share of total generation rose to a record 30.3 percent globally, 0.9 percentage points higher than the previous year. Despite the current increase in renewable generation, Czechia continues to lag behind the EU in the long term. For example, solar and wind power accounted for 3.7 percent of total electricity generation in the Czech Republic two years ago. This is well below the European average; across the EU, the share was around 22 percent.