“To ensure we have enough electricity at affordable prices, we need to be able to generate enough of it. Renewable sources will help us to do so. Thus, we have been working for a long time to improve the investment conditions for their development – simplifying the permitting processes and introducing rules to use them more efficiently. In addition, financial support for investments will help with their development, which includes a new call, allowing entrepreneurs to gain an interest-free loan from the NRB including a grant of 30% for photovoltaic power plants or 50% for energy accumulation – when used for the installation of photovoltaic solar panels on their business buildings,” says Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela.
“NRB will support self-employed persons, entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes with this programme. They will have a maturity of up to 15 years to repay the interest-free loan, and if they meet all the conditions, they will not have to repay the entire principal thanks to the grant component, as the programme allows us to forgive a significant part of the repayments,” says Michal Nebeský, NRB Board member responsible for business, adding that businesses can save up to 30% of eligible costs for installing a photovoltaic power plant or up to 50% when installing energy storage systems. In order for the repayments to be forgiven, three basic conditions have to be met:
- Prove that the PV plant and the energy storage device comply with the parameters set out in the Call for Proposals,
- Submit the verification report for the newly installed equipment,
- Provide a report confirming that the installation has been approved for permanent use.
The programme will support stand-alone PV projects of up to 50 kWp on business buildings or sheds. The intention here is to limit the use of agricultural land for such activities. Larger projects (above 50 kWp) including structural engineering – are supported by the Ministry of the Environment, with whom the MIT has discussed the terms of the pilot call.
The loan can be used both for the construction of a new PV power plant and for battery storage systems, but their installation is not a necessary condition. The loan covers a variety of costs – from cables to software to the supporting structures and PV panels. Eligible expenses include e.g. the services of designers in preparing the documentation, etc.
| Loan amount:
CZK 0.5-3m (EUR 20-120k)
|
Interest rate:
0 % p.a.
|
Maturity:
up to 15 years
|
| Drawdown period:
up to 2 years
|
Grace period:
36 months
|
Grant component:
30% of eligible expenditure on PV power plants 50% of eligible expenditure for energy storage |
State aid regime: De minimis. Applications under this programme will be accepted by the NRB until the end of 2027 or until the allocated funds are exhausted.
