City councilors approved grants in the Clean Energy Program Prague 2022-2023 amounting to almost 10 million crowns. They want to improve air quality in the capital and ensure more environmentally friendly operation of Prague households. Applicants for grants can apply for funding until the end of September.
Grants totaling 9,968,900 crowns will help 102 applications for financial support. These are projects for installing heat pumps, solar systems, and district heating. Such changes should help with the overall air quality in the capital. The approved amount was announced in a press release from the city.
“Prague committed to improving the air quality in the capital in the Climate Plan. The support of projects for eco-friendly heating and water heating in households is fully in line with this commitment,” said Deputy Mayor for the Environment and Climate Plan Jana Komrskova (Pirates).
Improving air quality is a long-term goal
According to her words, Prague has already supported tens of thousands of households during the duration of the subsidy program. Support will continue in the following years.
“Improving the air quality in Prague is our long-term goal. The city has supported more environmentally friendly water heating projects for almost thirty years. The newly approved subsidies of almost ten million crowns are a reasonable investment in better and healthier living, whether it is heat pumps, heating water from district heating, or solar collectors. Cleaner air is our common interest,” added Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS).
Most applications are for heat pumps
A total of 94 grant applications are for the installation of heat pumps. They are one of the cleanest energy sources in terms of emissions and pollutants. In this category, Prague will divide 9,268,900 crowns.
Six other projects are requesting funding for the installation of regulation of parameters of heating water from district heating. This makes it possible to save heat and additional costs. It also motivates owners of flats connected to the district heating system not to disconnect. The city will provide 600,000 crowns for these six applications.
The remaining 100,000 will go to two projects related to installing a solar thermal system. These are solar collectors for water heating and auxiliary heating. They reduce gas and electricity consumption for water heating, especially outside the heating season.
The program changed last year
The City of Prague has been providing subsidies for transforming heating systems and using renewable energy sources since 1994 through the Clean Energy Prague Program. However, last year there was a complete revision of this program, allowing applications to be submitted before the implementation. Subsidies are no longer provided for gas boilers but exclusively for heat pumps as part of reducing dependence on imported natural gas.
The program for 2022 to 2023 is intended to support the installation of heat pumps, accumulation tanks, solar and thermal systems, and regulation of water heating parameters from district heating. Applications can be submitted until midnight on September 30, 2023.