1 MW rooftop photovoltaics installed by Greenbuddies covers Prague Congress Centre

The roof area will accommodate over two thousand solar panels, which will have a capacity of almost 1 MW. The installers are working at a height of 40 m and laying almost 20,000 metres of cables. SolarEdge inverters are used, which minimise the voltage during a fault and are thus suitable for possible firefighting. Modern roof construction technology allows fixing by simply loading, without the need to drill into the roof. Concrete tiles weighing more than 62 tonnes are used for this purpose.

"We have completed all stages of the project, from the preparation of project documentation through securing all permits and purchasing components to the construction and commissioning of the supplied technology," says Aleš Spáčil, Chief Sales Buddy.

The investor and the contractor consulted with the conservation authorities and the metro administration during the permitting process. Issues related to the appearance and visibility of the solar installation on the roof had to be addressed through visualisations and video simulations, and a small sample of the plant had to be built directly on the roof as part of the approval process. Thanks to the constructive and practical approach of the conservationists, the permitting process was successfully completed. As the Congress Centre is partly located in the metro protection zone, the entire project was also approved by the Prague City Transport Company.

CEZ ESCO, with whom Greenbuddies has established cooperation in the Czech Republic, is the project sponsor; in addition to the Congress Centre, several projects are under construction. Another rooftop power plant under construction is on the building of the Unipress printing plant in Turnov, and other projects are in the pre-project phase, among others on the roofs of the PENNY discount chain, Ravak and the valorisation of unused land in the industrial zone of the Kolín car factory in Ovčáry.