Frank Bold news

The expert group Frank Bold, along with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, has submitted a complaint to the European Commission regarding the actions of Czech authorities in setting emission limits for the Počerady coal power plant. In August 2024, a court revoked the plant's extensive emission limits derogation, and authorities were required to immediately reflect this decision in its operating permit. However, this has not yet happened. As a result, the power plant is currently violating the legal limit for mercury emissions. The complainants are calling on the Commission to investigate whether the Czech Republic’s approach to Počerady is in breach of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

Electricity sharing in Czechia represents a relatively recent but increasingly popular phenomenon. With the implementation of the regulatory framework that enables the formation of Energy Communities (ECs) starting in July 2024, 20 ECs have already been established. In addition, the law also activates the possibility of energy sharing by “an active consumer”. What does the existing regulatory framework entail, and what challenges does it encounter?

In the previous article, we highlighted a new European Commission study titled Impact of Communities on the Grid: How Integrated Energy Communities Enhance Grid Flexibility and Support Electricity Market Development, which suggests we should aim to establish fully integrated energy communities. Could we achieve this in Czechia? And what are the paths to this goal? Here, Jan Bakule, a lawyer and energy specialist, explores the options.

This spring, the European Commission's ETIP SNET platform released a study on the impact of energy communities on the grid. The analysis was followed up in August by the major pan-European CIGRE conference, where study authors discussed their findings with energy experts, including scientists and grid operators. They concluded that well-structured energy communities could benefit the grid if supported by the regulatory framework and other market participants.

Thanks to legal support from the Frank Bold expert group, the Czech Neighborhood Association Uhelná, which has been opposing the adverse effects of mining at the Polish Turów mine, has achieved a significant milestone: at their initiative, the Czech Environmental Inspectorate (CEI) launched an investigation to assess whether mining activities at Turów are causing long-term water loss on the Czech side of the border. This is one of the first cases in which the Czech office has applied the Act on the Prevention of Ecological Damage. The Inspectorate has also included the Polish mining company PGE in the proceedings.

Together with other environmental organizations, we succeeded in revoking a derogation from the emission levels associated with the best available techniques for the Počerady Power Plant, the largest producer of greenhouse gases in the Czech Republic. The illegal derogation allowed the plant to emit unprecedented amounts of toxic mercury. Now it is the turn of the Ministry of the Environment to push for an end to the ongoing illegal situation.