Interest among Czech companies in emissions-free electricity rose 11 percent last year

Companies in Czechia are showing growing interest in emissions-free electricity, taking 11 percent more of it last year than the year before. Most of it came from renewable energy sources, with the rest coming from nuclear power plants. Demand is most common among companies in construction, the automotive industry and banking, as well as retail chains. The state-backed company ČEZ told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). Other suppliers also offer green energy to customers.

„We speak practically every day with companies that want to address their decarbonisation and climate commitments. Reducing their carbon footprint is key to the competitiveness of many businesses in international markets. A number of foreign companies now make cooperation with their domestic business partners conditional on decarbonisation,“ said Kamil Čermák, CEO of ČEZ Esco.

This was also reflected in last year’s figures. ČEZ Esco supplied companies with almost two terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity from renewable sources last year, 10 percent more year on year. Companies also took 630 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from nuclear power plants, up 13 percent year on year.

According to Čermák, most companies are interested in installing their own photovoltaic power plants, for example on the roofs of their premises. Last year, ČEZ Esco completed 80 such projects and is currently building another 40. However, the company says these plants cover only a small share of the energy consumption at business premises. As a result, demand is also increasing for supplies of emissions-free electricity to supplement output from companies’ own plants. „We expect demand for these products to grow further this year,“ Čermák added.

Other suppliers also offer green energy to customers. For example, Prague Energy (PRE) plans to supply companies with around 500 GWh of green electricity this year, according to spokesperson Karel Hanzelka, while households and small businesses will take a further 71 GWh a year. Hanzelka said the green electricity supplied is produced mainly at biogas plants and hydropower plants, with part of the offering also covered by electricity generated at photovoltaic power plants.

E.ON has also long offered customers a product supplying electricity exclusively from renewable sources. „Interest in it eased somewhat in previous years because of events such as the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, when customers focused more on price or simply securing their electricity supplies than on the environmental impact. Recently, however, we have again seen greater interest in energy from renewable sources. Typically, these are customers who are concerned about the impact of their behaviour and habits on the environment,“ spokesperson Roman Šperňák said.

Electricity from green sources is also available, for example, from innogy and some other suppliers. In such cases, energy companies provide guarantees as to the source of the electricity generated.