Public hearing on Czech wind and solar zones marked by shouting and criticism

Several hundred people today attended a public hearing on a proposal for areas designated as zones for faster construction of renewable energy facilities in Czechia. The event at the Radiopalác in Prague’s Vinohrady district began with a presentation of the document and continued after noon with officials answering questions from the public. The afternoon session has been marked by a more heated atmosphere, with people criticising the plan for accelerated construction as nonsensical in their questions. They often express their disagreement with officials’ answers through shouts and noise. However, the hearing has so far proceeded without any major incidents and has now been under way for around five hours.

The proposal currently includes 94 locations where wind and solar power plants could be prepared under a simpler permitting process. The full list can be found on the Ministry for Regional Development’s (MMR) website.

During the public hearing, representatives of several ministries are to present all aspects of the selection of the specific areas. The morning programme therefore included a presentation of the document and how it was prepared. In the afternoon, interested parties can ask questions, and according to the organisers, officials will be ready to answer questions and comments until the evening.

The atmosphere in the hall became noticeably more charged in the afternoon. People in the hall formed a queue several metres long to ask questions, with each question limited to two minutes. They alternate with viewers watching the hearing online. So far, people have criticised the plan to designate acceleration zones in every question, most often complaining about insufficient communication by the authorities and expressing concerns about the negative impacts of renewable energy sources on health or the landscape. Officials’ answers are often accompanied by disapproving shouts and noise. The hall has thinned out slightly since the beginning, but dozens of people are still present.

Critics of the proposal held banners outside the building with slogans such as "Defend your municipality", while a petition stand expressing opposition to the zones is also set up at the entrance. Several supporters of wind power, carrying banners, are also attending the event.

René Neděla, director general of the energy section at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO), stressed at the outset that these are only proposed areas where potential renewable energy projects could be discussed under an accelerated procedure, but that this does not mean projects could be built without standard permits. "Every operator will still have to go through the construction permitting process; only some parts of it will be simplified," Neděla explained.

In recent weeks, the government has already said that defining the zones does not mean wind turbines or solar fields will be built in the designated locations, or that they could not be built elsewhere.

The MMR significantly revised the original proposal for acceleration zones. Government commissioner for the Green Deal Filip Turek (Motorists) said in April that the total area allocated for the zones had been reduced sixfold compared with the original plans prepared by the previous government. The original proposed extent of the acceleration areas was reduced from 2,685 square kilometres to 474 square kilometres. This is around 0.6 percent of Czechia’s area. Given EU deadlines, he said the legislation is to be completed by the end of August.

Statistics from the European association WindEurope show that Czechia is among the countries with the slowest development of wind energy in Europe. Wind capacity in Europe grew by 19.1 gigawatts (GW) last year, with the Czech Republic accounting for 13 megawatts (MW), or 0.07 percent. Czechia also lags significantly behind in wind energy’s share of total electricity generation. According to industry association data, the Czech Republic has more than 200 wind turbines with a capacity of 372 MW, accounting for around one percent of electricity generation.