Czechia’s largest solar car park opens in Liberec, Czech Republic

Liberec now has the largest solar car park in Czechia: next to the Denso Manufacturing Czech car air-conditioning plant, a canopy over 482 covered spaces has been built for employees. According to the company, the energy it generates would be enough to supply up to 600 households.

The plant uses part of the electricity to charge electric cars, with 14 charging stations installed in the car park. “Renewable sources allow us to noticeably cut production costs. At the Liberec plant we make more than 9,600 car air conditioners every day, plus a comparable volume of other components, and that takes not only people but also a lot of energy,” said company president Akihiko Kakiuchi. He added that the photovoltaic installations also help the company reduce its carbon footprint.

A car park for one crown

The solar canopy was installed for the company by ČEZ ESCO together with the firm Carporio. The plant took it over from the contractor for a symbolic 1 crown: the project used a ČEZ ESCO financing scheme in which the contractor not only builds but also funds the project. The client then pays off the cost of the installation through electricity payments at a pre-agreed price, in this case over ten years.

The panels remain the property of ČEZ and pass to the company after a set period. ČEZ ESCO head Kamil Čermák compared it to leasing: the company does not have to deal with ownership, the energy side or maintenance. Air Plus director Vladimír Zadina added that such projects let customers carry out costly investments without large upfront spending, which makes green energy accessible to more firms.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz