Daniel Kretinsky’s Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) will stop using coal for the production of electricity and heat in all countries where it operates by 2030. The exception will be Germany, where the company will proceed in accordance with the Act on the Termination of the Use of Coal, on the basis of which the production of energy from coal will be terminated nationwide by 2038 at the latest. In the Czech Republic, the diversion from coal will concern the power plant and heating plant in Opatovice nad Labem in the Pardubice region, Plzeňská teplárenská or the company United Energy, which is the operator of the heating plant in Komořany, which produces heat and electricity for Most and Litvínov.
“Brown coal heating plants in the Czech Republic will be gradually rebuilt into low-emission heat and electricity sources by 2028/2029,” Častvaj said today. It consists of four pillars, with the EP Infrastructure, EP Power Europe, and EP Logistics International groups bringing together companies in the fields of infrastructure, electricity generation, mining, logistics, coal trading, and renewables. They include over 70 companies in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Italy, Britain, Ireland, Hungary, France, Poland, and Switzerland. EP Real Estate provides real estate projects within the group.
Brown coal, together with nuclear sources, has the largest share in electricity generation in the Czech Republic. According to the data. Last year, nuclear power plants accounted for 37 percent of production and lignite sources for 36 percent. Renewables accounted for 13 percent of total electricity production, natural gas for eight percent, and hard coal for two percent. Coal-fired power plants in the Czech Republic are also operated by the semi-state company ČEZ or the private companies Sev.en Energy and Sokolovská uhelná. In the update of its strategy, ČEZ announced this year that it will continue to reduce coal and will stop burning it in heating plants by 2030. Other energy companies are also preparing changes.
Častvaj stated today that EPH is convinced that the production and use of hydrogen will be an important pillar in achieving the goal of emission-free energy in the medium and long term. “We are preparing several small and medium-scale hydrogen technology projects connected to our gas infrastructure to demonstrate the feasibility of the solutions. At the same time, we have begun work on potentially robust solutions to accelerate the large-scale hydrogen transition,” said CEO and Chairman of the Board today. EPH Křetínský.
The holding recalled that in Germany, for example, in recent years it had shut down or transferred to reserve the Mumsdorf and Buschhaus coal-fired power plants and about 1000 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity at the Jänschwalde power plant. In the UK, the company shut down the 2000 MW Eggborough coal-fired power plant and completed the conversion of the Lynemouth coal-fired power plant to clean biomass.
“In 2021, EPH will close the German power plant Deuben, the two French coal-fired power plants Emile Huchet 6 and Provence 5 in 2021 and 2022, and also plans to close the German power plant Mehrum, where the decision is subject to approval by the transmission system operator and network regulator.” added Castwa.
Křetínský stated that the company will, among other things, focus on the development of large-scale renewable energy projects, which are being implemented and will be implemented, among other things, in former mining locations, especially in Germany. “We are currently working on projects for wind and photovoltaic power plants significantly exceeding 1000 MW, which will be implemented in the coming years,” he added. The output of the largest domestic source, the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant, is 2,250 MW.
According to last year’s ranking of Forbes magazine, Křetínský is one of the richest Czechs with assets worth 78 billion crowns.