Czech Company Switches Off Hundreds of Solar Panels After Producing Too Much Energy

Although the saying goes that you can’t have too much of a good thing, an example from the Czech Republic having to do with solar energy is an exception.

A Czech company was forced to switch off hundreds of solar panels, having produced more energy than the network could accommodate. It happened because the day was particularly sunny, which is why the production of energy was so high. That was a problem for the company, which didn’t have a plan where to store the surplus energy.

– What we’ve been saying for a long time has now been proven – the Czech Republic is not ready for renewable energy, because there are no storage capacities – said Jan Krcmar, the director of the Czech Solar Association.

In sunny weather, solar panels can produce more energy than the network can use. If there is no place for the storage of energy, it causes instability on the network, damages the electronic equipment, and in extreme situations, it can lead to power failures – writes Euronews.

This is why the CEPS company was forced to close power plants with a total power of 400 MW, that is, a sixth of the total capacity of solar energy in the country. Under normal circumstances, the Czech Republic would have redirect the surplus energy to the neighboring countries, but that day was so sunny that not even the neighbors needed additional electricity. All countries except for Denmark, Portugal and Slovenia had a surplus.

On the other hand, this case proves to the critics that renewable energy is still a sustainable energy source, but that it requires efficient storage units for storing surplus energy for subsequent use. With new project in development, a solution could soon be found, Nova Makedonija reports.

Czech Solar Association

CEPS

Jan Krcmar

energy surplus storage

solar energy

production of electricity from solar energy