Solar making gains with Czech homes and businesses

Czech households and companies have already installed 23 megawatts of solar power panels on their roofs during 2020, the total amount they installed during 2019. The daily Mlada fronta Dnes reports that experts from the sector expect the total for 2020 to double last year's result. "We're seeing constantly increasing interest in commercial photovoltaics for companies," says Jan Krcmar, chairman of the Solar Association. Many are using subsidies to finance the investments. The OPPIK program received 437 requests for subsidies worth CZK 2.6 billion. As the subsidies only cover some of the costs of installation, the applications represent a total investment of around CZK 5.5 billion. However, the bureaucracy surrounding such subsidies is so complicated that many companies don't even think it's worth it and pay for the entire project out of their own pocket. "It can take two years from the time you decide to the time the project is completed," says S-Power Energies chief executive Jaroslav Suvarsky. "That's why more and more firms are going without subsidies. They usually finance the project on their own or in combination with a loans.