CEZ raises renewable electricity production by 11% yr/yr in 2023

Prague, Jan 30 (CTK) - Semi-state energy group CEZ raised electricity production from renewable energy sources by 11 percent last year and its emission-free power plants supplied over 2.5 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity to the grid, CEZ told CTK today.

The amount is enough to cover the annual consumption of more than 700,000 households. Hydroelectric power plants accounted for the bulk of renewable generation, CEZ said.

For comparison, nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic supplied 30.4 TWh of electricity to the grid last year.

"Water resources in particular fared well year on year, where the higher efficiency of complex modernisations was fully reflected," said Jan Kalina, board member and director of the renewable and conventional energy division of CEZ.

Last year, the company's large and small hydropower sources generated more than 2.36 TWh of electricity in the Czech Republic, about 12 percent more year on year. The most efficient of the large hydro sources was Orlik (323 gigawatt hours - GWh), and of the pumped storage sources Dlouhe strane (601 GWh).

Photovoltaics also had a good year, delivering about 130 GWh to the grid last year, Kalina said. The solar park in Ralsko had the largest share with 55 GWh of electricity. CEZ plans to increase the capacity of solar sources by more than 40 times in the coming years.

"By 2030, we will build 6,000 MW of new green power plants, and the sun will play a major role," Kalina said.

In the future, CEZ will also focus on wind power, he said. He pointed to the need to significantly speed up permitting processes. CEZ's wind power plants generated 8.9 GWh of electricity last year.

CEZ has green power plants in 11 regions of the country. Last year, the highest amount of electricity was produced by sources in central Bohemia, the Olomouc Region and Vysocina. The best months in terms of production from renewable sources were April (278 GWh), December (270 GWh) and March (248 GWh).

Nuclear power plants saw a drop in production. The Dukovany and Temelin plants delivered a total of 30.4 TWh of electricity to the transmission system, down 0.6 TWh year on year. This was caused by extensive upgrades to ensure at least 60 years of operation for both plants.

Overall, electricity production from all sources in the Czech Republic fell by 10 percent year on year to 72 TWh last year, hitting the lowest level since 2002, according to an analysis by the consultancy EGU Brno. This is mainly due to lower economic activity in industry, said the analysis.

Despite the growth in recent years, electricity production from renewable sources in the Czech Republic has been lagging behind in the long term. For example, the share of solar and wind power plants in the total volume of electricity produced in the Czech Republic last year was 3.7 percent, which is well below the EU average of around 22 percent.

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