iDnes.cz: Regulator to cut funds for small solar power plants

Prague, Oct 28 (CTK) - The Czech Energy Regulatory Office (ERU) wants to cut the support to small photovoltaic power plants to Kc1.9 per kilowatt hour (kWh) next year from more than Kc5 per kWh they receive this year, server iDnes.cz has said.

The Czech Photovoltaic Industry Association said a year-on-year cut in the support amounting to 50 to 65 percent will lead to the liquidation of the solar business in the Czech Republic as prices of environmental technologies are falling, but only by 10 to 20 percent a year.

The ERU said in its proposal the state would support 1 kWh of electricity produced from photovoltaic sources whose peak output is not higher than 5 kilowatt peaks (kWp) with an amount of Kc2.46 as of January, according to the server.

Support to power plants with an output not exceeding 30 kWp would reach Kc1.9 per 1 kWh. This bonus would further decrease in the second half of the year.

A halt in construction would reportedly lead to bankruptcies of most installation companies and producers.

There are hundreds of Czech as well as foreign companies, focusing on the construction of small solar power plants and production and sale of photovoltaic components, operating in the Czech Republic.

A number of them came to the country from abroad, iDnes.cz said.