EU MONITOR | From boom to bust: How uncoordinated policies halted solar power deployment in Czechia

In his EU Monitor, Jonathan Lyons writes about the future of solar energy in the Czech Republic. "Harnessing the full potential of solar energy will not only help to meet the EU's decarbonisation targets, but also boost energy security and create local jobs. The potential for solar energy in the Czech Republic is considerable, up to 12 GW," writes Lyons.

The war in Ukraine, rising inflation and trade disruptions are leading to record energy prices, fuel shortages and increasing poverty. With winter approaching, 2023 is looking faint especially for the Czech Republic and most European countries whose dependence on Russian imports is multistory. Renewables offer solutions particularly to the Czech electricity mix. According to IRENA (2022), the global weighted average levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) from solar PVs reached USD 0.417/ kWh in 2021 making them the cheapest source of energy. Solar energy also creates local jobs and leads to the cultivations of energy independence. According to the SolarPower Europe (2021), over 350 000 people were employed in the EU solar sector and this number is projected to triple by 2030. To ensure energy security and reach its decarbonisation targets, Prague is feeling the pressures to phase out coal and ramp up renewables, notably solar PVs.

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Jonathan Lyons
Research Fellow