The city’s largest solar power plant has been built in the center of Prague. Big as a playground
In the center of Prague, a solar power plant grew the size of a football pitch. The Congress Center has 2,080 solar panels with an installed capacity of 936 kWp.
The construction of the power plant has already been completed, but it is not producing energy yet. On average, the largest rooftop photovoltaic system in the center of Prague should have saved the Congress Center 5.5 million CZK per year in electricity. “This is one of the largest energy saving projects in the Czech Republic,” says CEO of ČEZ Daniel Beneš.
The solar power plant covers an area of 7,000 m2. However, its implementation was not easy, as it is located in the heart of the metropolis. For example, the designers had to prove that the sun’s rays falling on the surface of the panels would not dazzle anyone. However, it was not only the immediate surroundings of the palace, but also the Petřín lookout points a few kilometers away.
Due to high electricity prices, domestic companies and public institutions have recently been turning towards reducing the cost of self-produced energy. “Our task at ČEZ is to help this as much as possible. Even in the city, there is room for the use of renewable energy sources,” added Beneš. ČEZ implemented similar projects, for example, on the roof of the Rudolfinum, the National Theater and the Thomayer Hospital.
“Energy savings and the new costs of renewable sources are exactly what we need in the current situation in order to reduce our energy consumption and increase our energy self-sufficiency and independence from energy from Russia,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said during a visit to the Prague Congress Center.
Half a year passed from the start of the project preparation to its completion. However, the fact that the Congress Palace could generate energy from the sun was considered several years ago.
“Even though we have agreed a very good price for electricity until the end of the year, the events on the energy market forced us to speed up the price of this project and we decided to launch it during the Czech presidency,” says Aleš Bartůněk, chairman of the board of the Congress Center, which since hosted 14 informal summits of EU ministers from July to October.
According to him, photovoltaics will cover about ten percent of the Congress Palace’s energy consumption. “Furthermore, it is directly linked to a comprehensive energy savings project, which has been running for the sixth year and saves us CZK 30 million every year,” Bartůněk explains more.
He considers the solar power plant to be the tip of the imaginary pyramid of energy projects in the palace. “Currently, the Congress Center is in a situation where, in the event of an emergency, it can do without energy supplies for a short period of time,” adds Bartůněk.
He has been trying to reduce energy demand since 2016, when he decided to modernize the heating, air conditioning, lighting and cogeneration for 135 million CZK. “Until that time, the Congress Center was spending approximately 74 million a year on electricity,” says Bartůněk.
Thanks to the trip, the Congress Center reduced its energy costs this year by CZK 50 million in terms of current high prices.
Newly built photovoltaics is a so-called EPC project, where the amount of savings is guaranteed directly in the contract. In this case, the total savings over 10 years is set at CZK 235 and the number by 30 percent.
At the same time, EPC investments can be repaid directly from the project with energy savings. “The investment costs are not paid by the Congress Center, but we, as the supplier, pay them,” adds Beneš.
In the case of the Congress Palace, whose shareholders are the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic and the capital city of Prague, this type of project was successfully implemented, but for other public institutions this is prevented by the Act on Budgetary Rules, which paradoxically considers it a debt. Prime Minister Fiala wants to consider how to remove this legislative barrier to prevent the creation of similar projects.