Czech Republic allocates additional funds for commercial PV

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Starting from June 16, Czech businesses can apply for for subsidies for small photovoltaic power plants under the Operational Program for Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Competitiveness (OPPIK).

According to information provided to pv magazine by local solar association Solarni Asociace, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade is providing additional subsidies for photovoltaics as a separate measure within Priority Axis 3.2. Energy savings. The association claims this makes a significant change as, prior to this initiative, the only possible way to get subsidy for PV power plants was if they have been implemented together with other measures to increase energy efficiency.

Under this new program, incentives will be granted to both PV systems with or without accumulation. Another benefit is the reduction of the minimum subsidy from half a million to 300 thousand CZK, which will allow subsidy applications for smaller companies with lower consumption and therefore  smaller PV power plant sizes.

Applicants have four months to apply and can submit their project proposals by mid-September.

“Solar energy has stagnated in the Czech Republic since 2014, because the only support for new solar projects in the form of FITs was stopped three years ago. New possibility to get support for rooftop PV systems and batteries are small steps that will help to revitalize photovoltaics in the Czech Republic,” says Veronika Hamáčková from Czech Solar association. “We expect thousands of new solar projects with a total output of tens to hundreds of megawatts in the Czech Republic by the end of this decade.”

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The Czech Ministry of the Environment (MŽP) and the State Environmental Fund (SFŽP) are currently also providing incentives through the incentive program for sustainable building, the so-called Green Savings Programme. Application for subsidies will be accepted starting from September 4.

Every project will be entitled to receive subsidies for not more than 3,000 kWh per year. Applications can be submitted for new and existing PV installations with a capacity of up to 10 kW. Budget for all project in clean energy is 19.4 billion crowns. The subsidy amount for a single project may range between CZK 35,000 (around $1,500) and CZK 100,000 (around $4,200) depending on the system size. PV installations combined with storage will be given priority.The PV system must primarily serve to cover the energy consumption of the building (at least 70% of the electricity produced).

Furthermore, under this program, it will be possible to obtain up to CZK 150,000 (around $6,400) in subsidies for photovoltaic battery systems with a total usable profit exceeding 4,000 kWh / year.

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