In the future, developers could be obliged to provide heating for their residential and commercial projects with emission-free heat sources based on renewable energy sources during construction in Prague. The obligation should be based on the climate plan of Prague, which the mayor’s deputy Petr Hlubuček (STAN) wants to update. Prague also wants to motivate the owners of already built buildings to switch to emission-free heat sources. The goal of Prague is to reduce the capital’s dependence on Russian gas and strengthen energy self-sufficiency. Hlubuček told reporters today. The proposal will be discussed by the city council and council.
“Increasing energy security by emphasizing energy self-sufficiency is becoming an absolute political priority for us in the light of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. That is why I commissioned the working group on climate change to prepare an update on the climate plan of the capital city of Prague,” said Hlubuček.
Hlubuček wants to submit an update of the climate plan for Prague until 2030 to the city council in June and to the council in the same month. Among the planned measures is the requirement to adjust heating in new development projects. According to Hlubuček, the city wants to motivate the owners of existing buildings that use a gas heat source with subsidies to switch to another source.
Natural gas is now used in Prague primarily for heating. Gas in Prague is used by about 180,000 households and tens of thousands of companies and institutions. According to Hlubuček, the capital consumes one tenth of the total gas consumption in the Czech Republic for heating buildings.
Biomethane production is to provide its own gas sources, which are to increase Prague’s energy self-sufficiency. A biogas plant for the processing of sorted bio-components of municipal waste should also be established. It could be put into operation around 2025.
The need to get rid of dependence on Russian fossil fuels, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said on Twitter on Tuesday. He reacted to the announcement by the Polish gas company PGNiG that Russia’s Gazprom would stop supplies through the Jamal gas pipeline. Apart from Poland, Gazprom stopped gas supplies to Bulgaria today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding that the country’s companies, which Russia says are not friendly, pay for gas in rubles. The first payments for gas supplies under Putin’s decree are expected in May.
RWE Gas Storage is the largest operator of underground gas storage facilities in the Czech Republic. It operates six storage tanks with an operating volume of about 2.7 billion cubic meters. Another operator of underground gas storage facilities is the company MND Gas Storage, which owns and operates two storage structures. The Czech Republic has a gas supply for about a month, depending on the weather.
Source: CTK
