Ministry wants to halt support to new renewable energy sources

Prague, March 21 (CTK) - The Industry and Trade Ministry wants to push through a new law that would halt support to new renewable sources of energy, according to the ministry's materials made public by the Chamber of Renewable Sources of Energy Thursday.

The chamber criticises the ministry's proposals, arguing it would harm operators of small renewable sources and secure further support to sources using fossil fuels, nuclear power plants and large solar power plants.

According to the ministry's material, support for all new facilities, with the exception of the highly efficient combined generation of heat and power, generation of heat and power from firedamp and power generation from waste, should be halted as of January 1, 2014.

The chamber, however, says such approach would mean that cheap renewable sources such as wind farms and small water plants will stop developing.

The ministry also proposes that operators of already existing renewable energy sources assess their investment returnability after 10 year since launch of operation. They would be entitled to further support only if the did not achieve real returnability yet.

"The measures would offset the excessive gains of all renewable energy sources that could arise in the past due to incorrect setting of purchasing prices," the ministry's material writes.

According to Martin Bursik, the chairman of the Chamber of Renewable Sources of Energy, such steps will provoke a wave of lawsuits by investors who will lose support after ten years instead of 15 years as set by the original law.

The support of renewable sources of energy is criticised by industry representatives.

At present, customers contribute Kc583 to renewable sources in the price of each megawatt hour of electricity they consume, compared with last year's Kc419. According to industrial businesses, this endangers Czech firms' competitiveness.