Prague must reduce its dependence on Russian gas and energy self-sufficiency
04/27/2022 19:58:00
Reducing energy dependence on oil and gas supplies from Russia is becoming a security necessity and a political priority for the capital.
The price of natural gas has risen by 170% in the last year and it is necessary to count further, when the availability of natural gas in Europe will fall sharply in the near future and the price of imported gas will rise dramatically. The capital city of Prague therefore wants to accelerate the city’s main energy self-sufficiency projects.
In Prague, natural gas is used mainly for heating. It consumes approximately one hundred and eighty thousand households and tens of thousands of other customers from institutions and companies. The capital itself consumes about one tenth of the total natural gas consumption in the Czech Republic for heating buildings. The capital city of Prague wants this level of dependence, especially on Russian gas, in the coming period by adopting a number of specific measures, some of which are already in the preparatory or even implementation phase.
“Increasing energy security by emphasizing energy self-sufficiency is becoming an absolute political priority for us in the light of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. That is why I have commissioned a working group on climate change to prepare an update of the Prague City Climate Plan for 2030 in order to assess how to further reduce the future role of natural gas in meeting the energy needs of the metropolis and its inhabitants in order to reduce Prague’s dependence on Russian natural gas. “Says Deputy Mayor Petr Hlubuček. “I would like to submit this update to the Prague City Council and subsequently to the Prague City Council before the beginning of the summer. It is not just about energy security, but also ensuring a sustainable energy price for the people of Prague, “adds Petr Hlubuček, Deputy Mayor for the Environment, Infrastructure and Security.
Among the measures being prepared is, for example, the requirement that developers design new residential and commercial projects in the city so that heating is provided by emission-free heat sources based on renewable energy sources. In the case of existing buildings using a gas heat source, the city is preparing steps to motivate the owners to switch to another source of support from the subsidy program of the capital. m of Prague Clean Energy Prague, which is designed for apartment buildings, houses and apartments. At the same time, the capital plans to end investment support for the installation of natural gas boilers and transfer this investment support to renewable sources, namely heat pumps, photovoltaic and photothermal systems.
A separate chapter in reducing dependence on natural gas is district heating in Prague households, where some district heating systems use natural gas.
“We want to install efficient alternative sources as a substitute for natural gas in these systems. The first concrete step is to start preparations for the construction of the ENERGOCENTER, which uses wastewater from the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bubeneč. With the help of a series of large-capacity heat pumps, the Energy Center will first obtain heat energy for supply to the neighboring localities of Dejvice and Veleslavín and in the second stage to the locality of Holešovice and the Bubny-Zátory development area, ”explains Deputy Mayor Hlubuček.
ENERGOCENTRUM will be the largest heat and cold production plant in the Czech Republic based on heat pumps. Heat supplies from large-capacity heat pumps are planned within a few years and the heat pumps themselves are powered by electricity from renewable sources.
The capital also wants to obtain its own gas resources, which will increase Prague’s energy self-sufficiency. “We have already pushed for the production of biomethane in the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant, while the first stage will be put into operation this year and, if it proves to be economically efficient, its capacity can increase several times over time,” says Petr Hlubuček. “As the second own source of ecological biomethane, we want our own biogas plant for the processing of sorted bio-components of municipal waste, which could be put into operation around 2025,” adds Deputy Hlubuček.
Other measures include reducing the energy intensity of buildings and reducing the energy losses of city buildings.