Subsidy Shift Tilts Czech Solar Toward Commercial Rooftops in 2025

• Czechia added 357 MW of solar in H1 2025, with corporate rooftops surging and home installs sliding after subsidy cuts, says Solární Asociace.

The Czech Republic’s solar market has taken a sharp turn in 2025: installations totalled 357 MW in the first six months, lifting the national fleet to 4.825 GW, according to the industry body Solární Asociace. The topline figure is down on last year’s bumper 404 MW half-year, but the segment mix has flipped. Commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftops accounted for nearly 200 MW, while residential arrays slumped as Prague tapered household rebates under the “New Green Savings” programme.

Corporate demand is being fuelled by volatile power prices, ESG disclosure rules and a generous 80 % depreciation allowance for on-site renewables. Retail chains, logistics centres and even breweries are plastering panels across flat roofs once reserved for billboard ads. EPC firm Solární Tech says its order book for >500 kW systems is up 60 % year on year, offsetting a 30 % dip in home systems below 10 kW.

Policy tweaks partly explain the swing. From January, households must install smart meters and battery storage to qualify for the full grant—adding roughly €3,500 to project costs. Many families are waiting for cheaper LFP batteries to arrive, freezing the residential pipeline. By contrast, companies can still claim straightforward feed-in premiums or self-consumption write-offs.

Equipment suppliers are juggling the pivot. Czech module assembler Solartec is expanding commercial-grade output, while inverter maker Fenix has slowed production of small three-phase units. “We’re not abandoning the household sector,” insists Solartec CEO Petr Wirth, “but the next growth wave is clearly on warehouse roofs.”

Looking ahead, analysts expect total 2025 installs to land around 650-700 MW—below last year’s 848 MW record but still healthy in a country once best known for coal. Brussels’ revised Renewable Energy Directive requires each EU member to map a rooftop PV trajectory; Czechia’s 2030 target is 12 GW. Whether the mix skews residential again depends on subsidy fine-tuning and battery prices, but for now the smart money—and the panels—are sitting on factory roofs.