CEZ renewable energy production increased by 29 pct in the quarter

The weather was favourable for renewable energy sources in the first quarter of this year. During that time, CEZ's green power plants increased production by 29 percent year-on-year to more than 860 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy. The growth was driven mainly by hydroelectric power plants, but production also increased from other sources, the company announced.

According to CEZ, several factors contributed to the increase in production, namely the modernization of hydropower plants, higher flows in Czech rivers and more sunny and windy days in the first three months of the year. According to the company, the emission-free energy produced would cover the consumption of about 245,000 households. In total, this would be more than a third of the renewable generation for the whole of 2023.

Among the large hydroelectric power plants, the Vltava Cascade power plants Orlík, Slapy and Lipno played the leading role, while small hydroelectric power plants were dominated in production by the Šumava Vydra and Práčov on the Chrudimka River. Among solar parks, Ralsko and Ševětín in South Bohemia were at the top.

"In an era of variable weather, the need for a diverse and nationally distributed portfolio of renewable energy sources has again emerged as an important condition for stable production. Thus, outages of one type of resource can be replaced by plants using another natural element or those we operate in other parts of the country. If the sun is not shining, it is usually windy or raining," said Jan Kalina, member of the Board of Directors and Director of CEZ's Renewable and Conventional Energy Division. While hydro and wind power generated the most energy in January, solar power plants benefited most from the weather in March.

Renewable energy production is growing globally. Their share of total production in the world rose to a record 30.3 percent last year. That was up 0.9 percentage points from the previous year, the Ember Institute said this week. The Czech Republic has long lagged behind the EU despite the recent increase in renewable generation. For example, solar and wind power accounted for 3.7 percent of total electricity generation in the Czech Republic last year. This is well behind the European average, which was around 22 percent across the EU.

Source: CEZ and CTK
Photo: Jan Kalina, CEZ