Czech Republic provides incentives for solar-plus-storage

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The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade is currently providing subsidies for the installation of a PV system combined with storage under the incentive program storgaPodnikání a inovace pro konkurenceschopnost (OPPIK).

The Czech government is now accepting applications before the end of May, but it is also preparing a new round that is expected in the second half of this year. The program also provides subsidies to buy electric cars or set up recharge stations.

For solar-plus-storage, there is no limit on PV output, but for each kW of PV installed small businesses must install a 5 kW battery.

Overall, the government hopes to allocate 500 million CZK ($20.3 million) for this round of the program. The maximum amount of subsidies that can be granted for each application is 30 million CZK ($1.2 million), while the minimum is 50,000 CZK (around $2,000). The funds cover part of the cost for buying and installing a PV system combined with a battery.

The Ministry of Industry will announce the projects selected under this round next fall.

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In the latest round of the program, held last year, the Czech government had provided 260 million CZK in funds, but only 46 million CZK was allocated.

One of the main issues for PV in the Czech Republic is the very little awareness of opportunities for businesses to gain support for new renewable sources. “The Czech Ministry of Environment should improve communication,” said Veronika Hamackova from local PV association Solární Asociace.

The Czech Republic reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of around 2.08 GW at the end of 2016, according to provisional statistics provided to pv magazine by local association Solární Asociace.

Last year, 4.83 MW of residential PV systems were connected to the grid. In 2014 and 2015, new additions totaled 2.6 MW and 1.1 MW respectively.

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