European association: Wind power development in the Czech Republic among Europe’s slowest

The Czech Republic is among the countries with the slowest development of wind power in Europe. The continent added 19.1 gigawatts (GW) of wind capacity last year, with the Czech Republic accounting for 13 megawatts (MW), or 0.07 percent. The Czech Republic also lags significantly in wind power’s share of total electricity generation. This follows from statistics by the WindEurope association. According to data from industry associations, the Czech Republic has more than 200 wind turbines with a capacity of 372 MW, accounting for around one percent of electricity generation.

According to the statistics, most new installations in Europe last year were onshore. Germany connected the most new capacity, with more than 5.7 GW of new wind power. It was followed by Turkey, Sweden and Spain. Despite the ongoing war, new wind projects are also being built faster than in the Czech Republic in Ukraine, where 325 MW was installed last year. By contrast, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia performed worse than the Czech Republic, with no new wind turbines built there last year.

"While five wind turbines were added in the Czech Republic over the whole of last year, Poland installs comparable capacity in roughly one week. New projects are also being developed in Ukraine despite the ongoing war. The country is thereby strengthening its energy resilience. This shows that technology is not the main constraint on development in the Czech Republic," said Štěpán Chalupa, chairman of the Renewable Energy Chamber.

The Czech Republic also lags behind in wind power’s share of total electricity generation. The average for Europe as a whole is 20 percent, while in the EU it is more than 19 percent. In the Czech Republic, it has long stood at around one percent. According to industry associations, wind turbine technology is gradually evolving. Current onshore turbines installed in Europe commonly have two to three times the capacity and reach an overall height of approximately 200 to 270 metres.

This also applies in the Czech Republic. While the country’s oldest turbine, installed in 1993 at Hostýn in the Kroměříž region, had a tower around 31 metres high, blades 13 metres long and capacity of 225 kW, the plant commissioned last year in Vrbice in the Karlovy Vary region has a 138-metre tower and 52-metre blades, reaching around 190 metres at its highest point. Its installed capacity is 2.35 MW and it generates electricity for around 2,000 households annually.

"Vrbice clearly shows how quickly the technology is advancing. The plant, which took almost ten years to prepare, now matches the parameters of its time, while more powerful machines are already being built in Europe," said Michal Janeček, chairman of the Czech Wind Energy Association.

According to experts, the construction of wind power projects in the Czech Republic has long been complicated by permitting processes as well as polarised attitudes among the public and municipalities.

The government is currently preparing changes to the system of acceleration zones. Acceleration zones are administratively designated areas in the Czech Republic where renewable energy projects, particularly wind and solar plants, are to receive permits faster and more easily than under standard procedures. According to the new Environment Minister Igor Červený (Motorists), the current setup is flawed and raises concerns among municipalities about uncontrolled construction.