We advocate for laws that support renewable energy sources in a meaningful way and promote the creation and development of energy communities. We work towards the Czech Republic that is more energy self-sufficient, independent from Russia and fossil fuels, and resilient to the impacts of the climate and energy crisis.
Community energy is a way for people to effectively protect themselves from the impacts of the energy crisis and to become more independent of the energy market prices.
However, the Czech Republic is far from realising its potential in this area as it lags behind in adopting the necessary legislation and providing financial support for community energy. That is why we founded the Community Energy Union (“Unie komunitní energetiky“ or “UKEN“) which brings together different actors whose goal is to create a clean and safe future for the Czech energy sector.
Solving the problem
Promoting decentralisation and community energy
Our goal is for the Czech Republic to fully harness the potential of renewable energy sources. We advocate for and help create the right conditions, including funding, for the development of solar, wind and other renewable sources. We outlined the vision for the modern energy sector in a series of workshops and webinars titled BOLD FUTURE.
According to a study we commissioned on the potential of community energy, up to one eighth of electricity consumption in the Czech Republic could be covered by municipalities and blocks of flats. However, the slow transposition of European legislation on the definition of “energy communities” and other aspects of decentralisation is hindering the transition towards a sustainable, safe and resilient energy sector that is not dependent on fossil fuels.
In early 2022, to accelerate the energy sector transformation, we launched the Community Energy Union (“UKEN“) which collects, builds and shares information and experience with the creation of energy communities. Since we believe that community energy will become the number one topic for mayors in the coming years, we published a guide for them on how to use community energy to develop and improve their cities and towns.
Monitoring funding for renewable energy sources and climate action
An unprecedented amount of public money is now being invested in the modernisation and green transformation of the energy sector, both through European funds and the Czech government budget. We are members of an NGO coalition which provides comments on the Modernisation Fund programmes directly to the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic. We also monitor the preparation of calls for proposals for operational programmes and the National Recovery Plan.
Emission allowances
Did you know that revenues from emission allowances are used for subsidies in the New Green Savings Programme (“Nová zelená úsporám”)? Our objective is to make sure that there is enough funding for this and other similar programmes as they help reduce the energy consumption and make people more energy self-sufficient and less dependent on the current electricity prices.
We strive to ensure that auctioning revenues from emission allowances are used effectively and for the purposes laid out in the Czech and European legislation. We fight against free allocation of allowances and compensation for emission-intensive industries. Audit reports and experience both show that such incentives and concessions do not lead to modernisation and a reduction of emissions but rather maintain the status quo which is harmful for people and the environment.