Czech utility ČEZ to significantly increase solar capacity, battery storage also planned

Energy company ČEZ will significantly accelerate the construction of solar power plants in the coming years. Next year, it will commission plants with a capacity of 200 megawatts (MW), followed by facilities with a total capacity of more than 500 MW in 2028. It will focus, for example, on large-scale parks. By the end of the decade, the company aims to invest up to CZK 40 billion in renewable energy sources. ČEZ informed ČTK of this today. So far this year, the company has commissioned five new solar facilities with a total capacity of 23 MW; by the end of this year, ČEZ’s portfolio should include photovoltaic power plants with a combined capacity of 240 MW.

"Every year, we are succeeding in bringing new photovoltaic power plants online and increasing solar generation. Photovoltaics help to steadily complement output from other emission-free sources and contribute to the transformation of the Czech energy mix. We expect a significant increase in the pace of construction in 2027 and 2028, when new projects will add capacity amounting to hundreds of megawatts," said ČEZ vice-chairman Pavel Cyrani.

Since the start of this year, ČEZ has commissioned solar power plants at the Nákladka, Vajmanka, Chladicí věže, Vlečka and Osek u Rokycan sites. In the coming years, ČEZ is preparing large solar park projects with capacities in the tens of megawatts. These will include a photovoltaic park at the Nástup Tušimice mine with a total capacity of more than 100 MW, or the Prunéřov Letiště photovoltaic project with more than 80 MW. These plants will be built on reclaimed mining land and spoil heaps in the area between the Prunéřov and Tušimice power plants. Some of the large photovoltaic parks will operate in combination with battery systems.

"We strive to make maximum use of brownfield sites. Industrial and energy sites with existing infrastructure also allow us to significantly accelerate both construction itself and the connection of facilities to the distribution grid. Typical examples of this approach are the Nakládka, Vajmanka and Chladicí věže plants at the Ledvice power plant complex in the Teplice region," noted Ondřej Douša, CEO of ČEZ Obnovitelné zdroje.

However, the overall development of solar power plants in Czechia has recently been slowing. In the first half of this year, 9,364 photovoltaic power plants were connected to domestic grids, around 28% fewer year on year. Their installed capacity also declined to 295 megawatts (MW). Overall, as of mid-year, Czechia had 248,346 solar power plants with a capacity of 5.36 gigawatts.