Supply: Energy Sources
Electricity
Installed electric capacity | 17412 MW (2005) | % |
|---|---|---|
Source: EURELECTRIC 2005 | ||
Thermal | 11,237 MW | 64,54 % |
Nuclear | 3,760 MW | 21,59 % |
Hydro | 2,166 MW | 12,44 % |
other RES | 249 MW | 1,43 % |
4,306 MW of electric capacity (complemented by 8,940 MW of thermal capacity) are installed in CHP plants (status 2001), which comprises 41 % of installed thermal electric capacity. 1,907 MWel of that are owned by industry, 2,399 MWel by public authorities. Future Cogen Europe estimates the capacity in 2001 at 3,700 Mwe.
Between 1991 and 2000, about 2000 MW of old brown coal plants were decommissioned. However, conventional brown coal fired power plants still form the basis of domestic electricity production.The environmental legislation has set strong emission limits for steam generating stations.
With an excess capacity of almost 50%, the Czech Republic is the second largest exporter of electricity in Europe (13 TWh in 2002, estimate of 18 TWh in 2003) [source: vwd energy weekly, 26/2003]
Nuclear Power Plants
6 WWER reactors are currently in operation:
- Dukovany 1,2,3, and 4 with four 440 MW reactors, commissioned between 1985 and 1987
- Temelín 1 and 2 with 900 MW each.
Electricity production by energy sources in Czech Republic, other CEEC, Austria, and the EU 15, 2008
Coal is still dominating the electricity production in Czech Republic, only Poland and Estonia have similar shares of coal (resp. oil shales in Estonia) in their respective electricity productions.
Per capita consumption of electricity since 1988 in Czech Republic, other CEEC, Austria, and the EU 15
There is a trend visible in the EU, that the demand for electricity is increasing more quickly than the total demand for energy. From the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, so far only Slovenia shows this trend, the Czech Republic does not.
Electricity balance - 2009 | TWh | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
GROSS PRODUCTION, of which | 82.25 | 100.0 | |
hydro | 2.98 | 3.62 | |
nuclear | 27.21 | 33.08 | |
wind | 0.29 | 0.35 | |
thermal, of which | 51.68 | 62.83 | |
| ex-coal | 46.70 | 56.78 |
| ex-oil | 0.15 | 0.18 |
| ex-gas | 3.03 | 3.68 |
| ex-biomass | 1.80 | 2.19 |
NET PRODUCTION | 75.97 | 92.36 | |
Imports | 8.59 | 10.44 | |
Exports | -22.23 | -27.03 | |
Transport/distribution losses | -4.39 | -5.34 | |
TOTAL CONSUMPTION | 57.19 | 69.53 | |
Energy sector consumption | 2.37 | 2.84 | |
FINAL CONSUMPTION | 54.85 | 66.69 | |
| industry | 22.57 | 27.44 |
| transport | 1.98 | 2.41 |
| households, services | 30.30 | 36.84 |
Electricity production by energy sources in Czech Republic, 2009
Electricity Grid
In May 2001, Czech Republic became full member of the UCTE (Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity)
- 2,910 km of 400 kV lines
- 1,440 km of 220 kV lines
- 134 km of 110 kV lines
The transmission capacity can transmit up to 60% of the czech peak loads. Export excess capacities can be transmitted by the czech transmission capacity.[Eurelectric, 2002]
Oil and Natural Gas
Oil imports from Russia (84 % of the oil demand in 2001) via the "Friendship"-Pipeline have been reduced since 1996 from 140,000 bl/day to 100,000 bl/day. A new pipeline from Germany supplies the difference. Three refineries (Litvinov, Kralupy, Pardubice) have a total capacity of 198,000 bl/day.
Natural Gas Imports doubled since 1990 to 9.5 Gm3. Since 1997, 3 Gm3 per year are imported from Norway to reduce the country's dependence on Russia.
Coal and Lignite
Production declined by 40 % between 1990 and 1999 due to closure of non profitable mines, environmental concerns, and structural changes in industry. Since 1999, this trend reversed and the production increased to 67 Mio. tons in 2001, of which 55 % were lignite, mainly due to production and export of electricity. From the coal exports of 10 Mio. tons, 40 % were lignite.
Heat
Roughly one third of Czech households are connected to district heating. District Heat has a share of approx. 22 % in final consumption. [Euroheat & Power]
Renewable Energy
The energy policy has set a target to increase the share of renewable energy to 5 - 6 % in 2005. The Energy Strategy envisages an increase of the share of RES in total primary energy consumption from 44 PJ in 2000 to 283 PJ in 2030. By far the largest contribution to this increase is to come from biomass, according to the Energy Strategy.
The indicative target for the share of RES in electricity production to be reached until 2010 according to the EU Directive 2001/77/EC is 8 %.
The environmental NGO Calla offers a map of RES installations on their website: "ATLAS OZE" (in Czech language). The database contains over 800 applications of RES - small hydro power plants, biomass heating plants, biogas plants, wind power plants, solar thermal installations and heat pump applications. Each item offers technical and economic information on the installation, a picture, as well as a contact form.
Hydropower
Currently, 2,166 MW of hydropower are installed.[EURELECTRIC]
The number of small hydro plants declined from 12,000 in the 1930ies to 259 with 22 MW in 1986. In 2005, the installed capacity of small hydropower in Czech Republic was 267 MW. [EuroObserv'ER]
The technical hydropower potential of Czech rivers amounts to 3.38 - 3.98 TWh/year, 1.57 TWh/year of which is small hydro.
Bioenergy
Production of energy from biomass grew from 11.5 PJ in 1995 to 19.7 PJ in 1999. Although this is an impressive growth over a small period, it is still far from the potential. About 2/3 of bioenergy are consumed by households for low temperature heat generation. About 140,000 tons per year of wood pellets and wood briquettes are currently being produced and partly exported.
The main biomass sources are residual biomass and biomass from energy crops.
Biofuel | available potential | utilisation in 2000 |
|---|---|---|
Fuel wood and wood waste | 32,800 | 16,200 |
Cereal straw | 6,050 | 39 |
straw from oil plants | 9,800 | 170 |
energy plants planted on marginal agricultural land | 12,000 | 0 |
biodiesel | 9,200 | 2,300 |
biogas | 7000 | 1,000 |
total | 76,850 | 19,709 |
The capacity for biodiesel production was 203,000 t in the year 2005. However, in this year, production was only 1,120 t.
The production of electricity and heat from Bbiogas amounted to 160.9 GWh and 1.004 PJ in 2005, with most of the primary production coming from sewage gas, followed by landfill gas.
Wind energy
In the past years, due to favorable feed-in tariffs, several wind parks have been built and more are planned. The installed capacity in the year 2005 was 20.3 MW.
A national wind map is available at the German-Czech Wind Information Server.
Solar Energy
The installed capacity in the year 2009 amounts to approximately 105 MWth. A big bulk of that capacity - 31.5 MW - got installed in December 2008, due to the fact that the Czech Republic is at present offering the highest price for solar power in Europe.
Geothermal Energy
In 2004, the installed capacity of geothermal energy installations was 4.5 MW.[EurObserv'ER]
The total theoretical geothermal potential for the whole country on the base of heat flows is 4,641 MW.
Exploitable potential: 2,500 to 3,000 MW, corresponding to an installed heat potential of 3,750 to 4,500 MW. [EBRD]
Support Mechanisms and feed-in conditions for electricity from renewable energy sources
Law on the Promotion of Production of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources
With August 1, 2005, a law on electricity from RES entered into force and implemented the EU Directive 2001/77/EC in Czech National legislation.
The law supports the production of electricity from RES, i.e.
- hydropower, wind power, biomass power plants, geothermal plants, PV,
- as well as electricity from mine gas from closed mines.
- from biomass including landfill gas, sewage gas, biogas
Operators of regional grid systems and of the transmission system are obliged to purchase all electricity from RES that is subject to promotion.
Producers of electricity can choose from two support schemes:
- Fixed feed in tariffs
- Green Bonus
Fixed Feed in Tariffs: In case of the fixed price, the electricity has to be purchased by the operator of the distribution system for regulated fixed prices. The price is valorized through a price index of the industrial producers. There is little risk in this option. The feed-in tariffs are fixed each year for one year ahead for each type of RES. They are fixed in a way that the conditions for meeting the indicative target of 8% until 2010 are met, and that the 15-year payback period of the investments is ensured. For new installations, the feed in tariff / purchase price of the green electricity is valid for the year of commissioning, and the price index is guaranteed. For existing installations, the price of the year 2005 is guaranteed, and the price index is applied also. Stability of the purchase price is guaranteed for a given installation for 15 years.
Green Bonus: In the case of the Green Bonus, the producer sells electricity on the market for the wholesale price. In addition, he receives a premium (=Green Bonus) (in CZK/MWh) from the distribution system operator. This way, the risk is higher, but the revenue is also higher. Green Bonuses are fixed one year ahead for individual types of RES in a way that the total of revenues for the average purchase price is higher than that for the fixed purchase prices. The payback period for investments is shorter. The Energy Regulatory Office (ERU) will take into account the increased risk entailed in placing green electricity on the market, therefore a higher revenue is given. The price of the Bonus is flexible according to the purchase price of the electricity.
The Energy Regulatory Office determines the feed-in tariffs and the green boni each year in advance. The prices may not be lower than 95% of the value of the year before. Prices are set on the following assumptions:
- Return of investment of 15 years
- Prices are differentiated according to the renewable energy source
- Prices are differentiated by the year of commissioning
Feed-in prices and prices of the Green Bonus for 2009
The Energy Regulatory Office's Price Decision No.8/2008 came into effect on 1 January 2009:
Source: Energy Regulatory Office, Price Decision of ERU no. 8/2008, which came into effect on 1 January 2009. | |||
Purchase Price for electricity supplied to the grid in CZK/MWh | Green Boni in CZK/MWh | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Small Hydro Power Plants [installed output up to 10 MW, incl.] | commissioned on new sites after 1 January 2008, incl. | 2,700 | 1,260 |
commissioned on new sites between 1January 2006 and 31 December 2007 | 2,540 | 1,100 | |
commissioned after 1 January 2005, inclusive, and refurbished small hydroelectric power stations | 2,300 | 860 | |
commissioned before 1 January 2005 | 1,790 | 350 | |
Small Hydro Power Plants - two tariff bands | commissioned on new sites after 1 January 2008, incl. | high tariff band: low tariff band: | 1,700 890 |
commissioned on new sites between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2007 | high tariff band: low tariff band: | 1,700 650 | |
| commissioned after 1 January 2005, and refurbished small hydroelectric power stations | high tariff band: low tariff band: | 1,370 455 |
| commissioned before 1 January 2005 | high tariff band: low tariff band: | 600 75 |
Biomass | combustion of O1 category biomass only in new electricity generating plants or generating units after 1 January 2008, incl. | 4,490 | 2,950 |
| combustion of O2 category biomass only in new electricity generating plants or generating units after 1January 2008, incl. | 3,460 | 1,920 |
| combustion of O3 category biomass only in new electricity generating plants or generating units after 1 January 2008, incl. | 2,570 | 1,030 |
| combustion of O1 category biomass only before 1 January 2008 | 3,820 | 2,280 |
combustion of O2 category biomass only before 1 January 2008 | 3,130 | 1,590 | |
| combustion of O3 category biomass only before 1 January 2008 | 2,480 | 940 |
| co-firing of a mixture of biomass category S1 and fossil fuels | -- | 1,350 |
| co-firing of a mixture of biomass category S2 and fossil fuels | -- | 690 |
| co-firing of a mixture of biomass category S3 and fossil fuels | -- | 40 |
| parallel combustion of biomass of category P1 and fossil fuels | -- | 1,620 |
| parallel combustion of biomass of category P2 and fossil fuels | -- | 960 |
| parallel combustion of biomass of category P3 and fossil fuels | -- | 310 |
Landfill Gas and Sludge Gas | firing of landfill gas and sludge gas from wastewater treatment plants after 1 January 2006 | 2,420 | 880 |
firing of landfill gas and sludge gas from wastewater treatment plants between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2005 | 2,730 | 1,190 | |
firing of landfill gas and sludge gas from wastewater treatment plants before 1 January 2004 | 2,840 | 1,300 | |
Biogas | biogas firing at AF1 category biogas stations | 4,120 | 2,580 |
| biogas firing at AF2 category biogas stations | 3,550 | 2,010 |
Coal Mine Gas from closed mines | firing of mine gas from closed mines | 2,420 | 880 |
Wind Power | commissioned after 1 January 2009, incl. | 2,340 | 1,630 |
| commissioned between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008 | 2,550 | 1,840 |
| commissioned between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007 | 2,620 | 1,910 |
| commissioned between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006 | 2,670 | 1,960 |
| commissioned between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2005 | 2,930 | 2,220 |
| commissioned between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2004 | 3,070 | 2,360 |
| commissioned before 1 January 2004 | 3,410 | 2,700 |
Geothermal Energy | electricity generation using geothermal energy | 4,500 | 3,140 |
Solar Energy | electricity generation using solar radiation after 1 January 2009, with an installed capacity of up to 30 kW, incl. | 12,890 | 11,910 |
electricity generation using solar radiation after 1 January 2009, with an installed capacity of over 30 kW | 12,790 | 11,810 | |
electricity generation using solar radiation, for generating units commissioned between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008 | 13,730 | 12,750 | |
electricity generation using solar radiation, for generating units commissioned between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2007 | 14,080 | 13,100 | |
electricity generation using solar radiation, for generating units commissioned before 1 January 2006 | 6,710 | 5,730 | |
