A one-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power plant is being built on the roof of Billa’s central warehouse in Modletice, near Prague, which supplies all the company’s stores in the Czech Republic. It will thus become one of the largest roof installations in the Czech Republic, and Billa will start drawing energy from it in the first half of this year, after the power plant will be connected to the distribution system. The installation was provided by ČEZ ESCO, ČEZ announced. Billa invests over CZK 16 million in photovoltaics. Part of the investment was covered by subsidies.
The solar power plant produces around 917 MWh of electricity per year, which is equivalent to the consumption of 260 ordinary households. The power plant will save over 471 tons of CO2 per year, compared to the fact that Bill would take conventional electricity from the socket. By comparison, about 60 hectares of forest or 21,600 trees would be needed to absorb this amount of CO2.
“Reducing the carbon footprint is one of the major pillars of our sustainability strategy, which also includes, for example, strict plastics sorting, maximum recycling, alley planting support programs, the sale of green products or reducing the energy intensity of our operations. We want to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030. and covering part of our consumption with green energy from the sun is one of the steps that will bring us closer to this goal,” said Billa ČR CEO Dariusz Tomasz Bator.
At a time of rising energy prices, he said Bill’s own source of electricity was also beneficial in that it would cover part of its consumption for many years to come, thus saving the company the money it would otherwise have to spend to buy electricity from suppliers.
ČEZ ESCO is installing 1,846 photovoltaic panels on the roof of the central warehouse, which cover an area of 5,300 square meters. Large-format panels are used, which, in contrast to the classic ones, are attached to the roof in several places to prevent them from bending, for example due to snow. The electricity produced will cover approximately one-fifth of the annual consumption of the area with continuous consumption 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in which there are hundreds of food freezers.
“Photovoltaics for Billa is one of the largest roof installations in the Czech Republic. One megawatt is already a really large power plant, with an output of about 200 times greater than conventional installations in family houses,” said ČEZ ESCO CEO Kamil Čermák.
ČEZ ESCO intends to build or operate a total of 300 MW of photovoltaic power plants for the needs of its customers by 2030. The ambition of the entire CEZ Group is to build 6,000 MW in new renewable sources by 2030. ČEZ ESCO is a ČEZ subsidiary that focuses on services related to modern energy, decarbonisation and climate change reduction for industrial customers, municipalities and institutions.
Source: Billa CR, ČEZ ESCO and CZK
Photo: Billa ČR CEO Dariusz Tomasz Bator
