Czech government decides to amend renewables support regime

The Czech government decided on Monday to overhaul its current regime for supporting power production from renewables. It backed a change to the existing support regime of guaranteed prices for renewable power generation which includes an undertaking that the energy regulator cannot cut feed-in tariffs by more than 5.0% in any single year. That limit is now removed for renewables which recoup their investment costs and make a small profit in less than 11 years. The change is expected to take effect from 2011 but still has to be passed by both houses of parliament.

The move is a response to the surge in solar power projects in the Czech Republic thanks to an estimated 40% cut in the cost of equipment over the last couple of years. At the same time Czech guaranteed prices for solar generated power are amongst the most generous in Europe.