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Appeal court prosecutors are preparing to investigate the handing out of power station licences to firms just before a major cut in the price paid for solar electricity in late 2010 amid claims some were given to facilities that were not operational, reports Hospodářské noviny.
The first 20 power stations targeted by the investigation involves the allocation of licences that gave their holders the right to an estimated 80bn koruna (more than €3bn) in grants to be paid out over 20 years. The initiative may pave the way for the examination of a thousand additional cases.
Some investors in the sector who pledged that their facilities would achieve levels of productivity comparable with solar installations in California, which benefits from much more sunshine than the Czech Republic, are also suspected of exaggerating the performance of their facilities.
The business daily reminds its readers that during the “solar boom” in 2009-2010, the number of solar facilities multiplied by a factor of nine to reach 25,127 installations.
