Survey: 60% of Czech municipalities want to build their own energy sources, but lack of amendment is holding them back

Three-fifths of municipalities want to build their own energy source in the next three years, such as a solar power plant, biogas plant or biomass boilers. Nearly a third also plan to establish an energy-sharing community over the same period. However, 40 percent of municipalities say these projects are being prevented or held back by the absence of an amendment to the law on community energy. Another fifth consider the lack of an amendment a complication, but are trying to develop community energy within the existing legislation. This emerged from a May survey by the Association of Local Self-Governments of the Czech Republic (SMS ČR) among representatives of nearly 500 municipalities.

According to the findings of SMS ČR, 35 percent of municipal representatives identified the absence of an amendment to the Energy Act as the biggest obstacle to the development of community energy. For 23 percent, the problem is the refusal to connect smaller energy sources to the distribution grid; 17 percent cited insufficient methodological support as a complication, and 16 percent pointed to low levels of grant support.