Solar Flex Prague, jointly organised by SolarPower Europe, Solární Asociace and Asociace AKU-BAT CZ, welcomed visitors to a snowy Czech capital on Thursday (29 January), bringing together stakeholders from across Europe to discuss how flexibility solutions and storage can be further deployed.

The conference began with a speech from SolarPower Europe CEO, Walburga Hemetsberger, who said that while electrification is a lifeline for Europe, there is dwindling confidence in the energy transition among some politicians, some leading businesses and key players in the defence sector.

“The way out of the doubts is to really bank big time on flexibility, on storage and on electrification. This will show very concrete benefits very quickly, make politicians understand and really feel the benefits,” Hemetsberger told attendees, before adding that the combination of solar with storage and flexibility sources can lower energy system costs by €30 billion by 2030, while strengthening Europe’s security by removing dependency on foreign players. 

Paula Dorado represented the European Commission via video call and told attendees work on an electrification action plan is underway, scheduled for adoption this year. The plan is expected to address barriers and provide a way forward on electrification for different sectors including companies, households and industrial processes, Dorado said.

Throughout the day, speakers were in agreement that storage and flexibility now play an integral role in Czechia’s electricity system. Panellists pointed out that solar-plus-storage projects can be implemented in a matter of months, offering companies the ability to save money or open new revenue streams. Other speakers stressed the idea that renewable sources are uncontrollable is now outdated, explaining that modern solar-plus-storage systems are not only manageable, offering the ability to respond to market prices and the needs of both transmission and distribution system operators, but are shifting from grid-following to grid-forming technologies and contribute to the stability of the electricity system.

Czechia appears ahead of the curve when it comes to deploying co-located storage with smaller-scale solar, with figures published by Czechia’s largest electricity distributor, ČEZ Distribuce, last September sharing 86% of solar plants connected during the first half of 2025 were equipped with energy storage. In contrast, the country’s large-scale solar market sits at a pivotal moment following the implementation of a legal framework for large-scale development and operation last year. During an afternoon session on opportunities and challenges related to storage and the grid, Rene Nedela from Czechia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said up to 180 GW of BESS applications have been registered, although some are without any project readiness.

Several speakers advised Czechia to look to other countries further down the line of large-scale battery deployment, and in particular its neighbour Germany, whose favourable market environment for batteries has helped attract investors and move flexibility efforts forwards.

Attendees also said flexible solar-plus-storage projects could help to solve any power shortages that arise from the gradual shutdown of coal-fired power plants in Czechia. The Czech government has committed to phasing out coal-fired electricity generation by 2033 and the country’s last deep black coal mine shut down last month.

During the afternoon session, Alexandr Cerny from Czechia’s Energy Regulatory Office introduced proposed changes to Czechia’s energy tariffs, expected to come into force from the start of next year. The changes will restructure current tariff categories, particularly at the higher voltage levels, and are in part designed to reward flexibility in both consumption and generation, holding the potential to help ramp up the deployment of batteries while better integrating renewables to the grid.

Solar Flex Prague was SolarPower Europe’s second conference on flexibility following the inaugural Solar Flex Croatia held last March. A second edition of Solar Flex Croatia will take place in Zagreb on March 17 this year and Hemetsberger told pv magazine work is currently underway preparing the first Solar Flex Italy for later this year.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.