Installed output of solar power plants in ČR stagnates

Prague, March 20 (CTK) - The installed output of solar power plants in the Czech Republic has been stagnating since the beginning of this year owing to less favourable conditions of financial support to solar sources, according to data released by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERU).

The installed output of photovoltaic power plants, for which the ERU issued a licence, amounted to 1,958 megawatts (MW) as of March 1, which is only about 6 MW more than the output of licensed power plants at the beginning of January, according to the ERU's data.

Construction of solar power plants boomed in 2010 owing to generous financial support, and the installed output of photovoltaic resources rose by 1,500 MW during the year from 463 MW at the beginning of the year.

The government adopted a series of measures to prevent a sharp rise in electricity prices in 2011 owing to the development of solar power plants and support to renewable resources. The measures limited this year's power price growth to 4.6 percent for households and 5.2 percent for companies on average.

Among the measures to prevent the rise in electricity prices was a proposal to impose a 26 percent tax on solar power plants, for example.

Besides, financial support to large solar plants built in open areas ended, and the ERU also significantly lowered purchase prices of electricity from solar sources.

Entrepreneurs in the solar energy industry say the measures introduced by the government will liquidate photovoltaics in the Czech Republic and some of them even want to file a suit against the new rules. A group of Senators have filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court over the cabinet's steps.

There are almost 13,000 solar power plants operating in the Czech Republic now compared with 6,032 at the beginning of 2010. Most of the power plants are smaller facilities. Large plants whose output is several tens of megawatts contribute the most to the amount of the installed output.

The value of the installed output of photovoltaic power plants connected to the transmission network and distribution systems stood just below 1,900 MW at end-February 2011. The installed output of nuclear power plant Temelin, for example, is 2,000 MW.

The leading operator of photovoltaic power plants in the Czech Republic is company CEZ. The total installed output of all solar plants operated by CEZ amounts to about 125 MW.

"Skupina CEZ does not plan to connect to the grid any more photovoltaic sources this year," CEZ spokesman Martin Schreier told CTK.

Among the other important operators of solar sources in the Czech Republic in terms of installed output are companies Energy 21 and FVE Czech, for example.

Installed output of solar power plants for which the ERU issued a licence:

Date Installed output(MW) Number of solar power plants
January 1, 2009 65.74 1,475
January 1, 2010 462.92 6,032
January 1, 2011 1,952.70 12,861
February 1, 2011 1,955.69 12,894
March 1, 2011 1,958.38 12,898

Source: ERU