Wind power plants can be co-owned by people living in the area
Would you like to be a co-owner of a power plant? Actually a wind power plant that is truly environmentally friendly and, moreover, is the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic. There is one just like this in Vítězná near Dvůr Králové, running at an altitude of 560 metres and amazing with its impressive size: it is 175 metres tall and each turbine blade is 56 metres long. With its installed capacity of 3 MW, it produces more than 6,000 MWh per year, i.e. electricity for approximately 4,000 households. Moreover, it is co-owned by people from Vítězná and the surrounding area. It is one of the first community-owned wind power plants in the Czech Republic.
“We are probably the only ones in the Czech Republic to operate ‘community-owned wind parks’. We allow people living near our power plants to invest in them through acquiring small equity stakes. It is a trend that we are going to see more often in the foreseeable future,” says Pavel Svoreň, member of the Board of Directors and Executive Officer of Portiva Group.
The original idea came from Eldaco, a company that is now part of Portiva Group and constitutes its energy division. Several years ago, Eldaco was the first company to introduce projects that are common abroad. It built the first community-owned wind power plant in Rozstání near Vyškov, allowing people to invest and grow their money in it. Since the scheme has proved to be successful and the company has paid out dividends as promised, the interest in subscribing for shares in Vítězná was much higher. “I am convinced that if we came with another similar project it would be even more appealing to people. This is also why we have decided to offer another investment product for people interested in investing in renewable energy,” Pavel Svoreň explains.
Portiva currently owns and operates 14 wind and solar power plants with a total installed capacity of 30 MW: 17 MW coming from wind energy and 13 MW from photovoltaic systems. This places it on the top of RES owners and operators in the Czech Republic. It is a clear market leader in terms of wind energy. All Portiva’s plants produce nearly 60 GWh of electricity per year, covering approximately 55,000 households’ demand.
Komerční banka appreciates the client’s experience in the development and operation of renewable energy sources, which are in line in the bank’s strategy of supporting green projects. “Portiva is our major client. It has successfully developed and continues to operate a portfolio of solar and wind power plants. This makes Portiva a major partner of our Energy Finance team. With the expansion of the operations of the client and the client’s group beyond energy we have been able to extend our cooperation. In terms of the top management team, I appreciate their professionalism, expertise, and long-term vision of the entire group’s direction. I look forward to upcoming projects on which we can work together in the future,” said Pavel Beran, Head of Energy Finance in Komerční banka.
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