According to the Czech Ministry of Environment, over the past two years, the country has gone through a transformation thanks to the Modernisation Fund, which was used mainly to support the growth of renewable energy sources. Hundreds of projects were presented for a total amount of over 185 billion crowns (7.9 billion euros). Now, following the reform of the EU emission trading system (EU ETS), the Fund will also expand to other areas and it will be increased up to 500 billion crowns (21.5 billion euros) by 2030.
The Ministry recalled that the largest number of projects approved is in the construction of solar power plants. Almost 2,000 megawatts (MW) of solar installed capacity was supported since 2022, saving 1.6 million tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to 1,400 trucks loaded with coal.
These 2 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, underlined the Minister of Environment, Petr Hladík, correspond to the annual energy consumption of roughly 750,000 households. In the meantime, the construction of new solar power plants in many coal regions is underway.
“A nice example of a responsible approach of municipalities is the one of the town of Kačice in the Central Bohemia region, where they decided to install PV systems including battery storage on the municipal office building and a nursing home. In this way, they consume 31 megawatt-hours (MWh) less electricity per year, which in terms of money can represent an annual saving of around 124,000 crowns [5,300 euros],” explained Petr Valdman, director of the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, which ensures the complete administration of the Modernisation Fund.
In the future, the Fund will expand from 150 billion crowns annually (6.4 billion euros), as calculated in 2021, to 500 billion by 2030 (21.5 billion euros).
Applications are currently being received in five open calls: two for the construction of solar power plants by municipalities, cities and companies; two are focused technologies under the ENERG ETS program (which is about the improvement of energy efficiency and reductions of emissions of greenhouse gases in EU ETS industry); and the last one is open for the modernisation of heating plants.