The largest solar power plant in the Czech Republic has started operation

Prague - The company Energy 21 has launched the operation of the largest solar power plant in the Czech Republic in Jaroslavice, in the Znojmo region. The electricity produced by the facility, which spans an area of 4.3 hectares with an expected installed capacity of 0.9 megawatts, will be sufficient for the annual consumption of approximately 300 households. This was announced by company representatives at a press conference in Prague today. The largest solar power plant previously operated in Ostrožská Lhota in the Uherské Hradiště region. Its installed capacity is 0.7 MW, but the operator plans to expand it to 1.5 MW next year.
    The company used technology during construction that is not based on silicon, making it the first in the Czech Republic to do so. "Unlike traditional silicon panels, amorphous panels can also work with diffuse light. This means they generate energy even when it's cloudy," said Tomáš Buzrla from Energy 21. The power plant consists of 15,000 panels, which convert light particles into electrical energy.
    The land for the power plant was rented to the company by the municipality. "The area was identified as an industrial zone seven years ago. Agricultural production is declining, so we wanted to revitalize the municipality and attract manufacturing companies," said the mayor of Jaroslavice, Petr Zálešák. "We believe that the project (solar power plant) will also attract other entrepreneurs," he added.
    The construction of the power plant cost 110 million crowns, and the company expects a return on investment within 15 to 20 years. "We are preparing projects to be economically viable even without the use of state subsidies. In the future, however, we would like to obtain subsidies for research and development," Buzrla said.
    At the beginning of next year, the company plans to launch two more solar power plants, the first in nearby Hrádek and another in Vojkovice in the Brno region. Southern Moravia is the most favorable region for the construction of solar power plants in the Czech Republic due to the highest sunlight exposure.
    In the next two years, the company intends to invest approximately 15 billion crowns in Czech photovoltaics and increase the total installed capacity of its solar sources to 150 megawatts. For comparison: one block of the Temelín nuclear power plant has an installed capacity of 1000 MW. According to Buzrla, several projects are also planning higher output than in Jaroslavice. However, the exact locations of where the solar panels will be erected are still kept secret.
    Operators of the solar power plant have the assurance that distribution networks will purchase electricity from them for 15 years from the start of operation at a guaranteed price of 13.46 crowns per kilowatt-hour. This price also increases annually by inflation. The market price of electricity from traditional sources is about ten times lower.
    The Czech Republic still lags behind Western European countries in generating energy from solar radiation. Last year, the output of all solar power plants in the country was approximately one megawatt, and their share of electricity consumption is negligible. In the European Union, the total capacity in 2005 was nearly 1800 MW, with more than 85 percent contributed by neighboring Germany.