Community energy is a notion that is becoming increasingly popular. What's the story behind it? Simply said, it's the generation and use of electricity or other forms of energy by a group of people.
Community energy
The energy community, or community energy, is a modern method of distributing electricity and other forms of energy. Instead of merely being consumers, citizens, towns, and small enterprises can create, distribute, and store energy. The energy community concept is based on a group of residents, a municipality, or a small business agreeing to construct their own energy source, such as wind farms or solar panels on their own roofs.They can then take advantage of better terms by purchasing the generated electricity as shareholders or community members. Any surpluses are then sold to the public network, with the proceeds going toward community development. The major benefit of community energy is that, if the legislation permits it, the local people does not pay for the power or distribution component of the energy produced, resulting in a large reduction in the price.
Community energy in Czechia?
Despite the fact that community energy is one of the European Union's top priorities, the Czech government either ignores or reacts very slowly to these prospects. It wasn't until the beginning of 2021 that the state offered assistance through the so-called Modernization fund, of which just 1.5 percent, or around 2.1 billion CZK, is allotted to Community Energy out of a total volume of 150 billion CZK. In a context where the climate issue is echoing throughout the European Union, the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energies is beginning, and individual states have committed to a major decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050, The current scenario demonstrates that in the future, fundamental transformation will only be feasible with the participation of local, distributed resources, among which community energy is unquestionably one.
At the moment, the Smart Písek office is attempting to reach out to all entities interested in the topic, engage in active communication with them, and establish additional collaboration in this field. If you are interested in working with us on the topic of community energy, please fill out the online form.
An introductory seminar dedicated to this issue took place on May 31st, 2021.
Main topics of the seminar and presenters:
Photovoltaics as a sevice + application of photovoltaic systems on city buildings and AoPO (Association of property owners) buildings
JAN KRÁČMAR, project manager, ČEZ ESCO
VLADIMÍR TYLŠAR, oprofessional advisor, ČEZ ESCO
Photovoltaic power plants and heat pumps + presentation of finished projects, solution proposals and real operation
ADAM KLOSE, director of the company, GREENWATT
MARTIN NEJDL, business manager, GREENWATT
Information system for real estate management + records of media consumption and their re-billing + monitoring of energy intensity + technology passport MARTIN STIBOR, technický ředitel, SKYCOM
We appreciate everyone's participation and look forward to seeing Písek's community energy grow!