NPÚ: Solar panels in heritage reserves are undesirable

Prague – According to the National Heritage Institute, it is undesirable to place photovoltaic panels on the roofs of buildings in heritage reserves and areas designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. This is stated in a methodological guideline recently issued by the institute. The outgoing leadership of Prague launched a project to install solar panels on roofs, with Mayor Zdeněk Hřib earlier stating that this should also apply to the heritage reserve.

The methodology of the NPÚ, which has a recommendation character, generally considers the placement of photovoltaic panels undesirable in the case of monuments, heritage reserves, and areas under UNESCO protection. "Possible exceptions relate to very specific cases, such as new constructions (in the sense of newly created buildings) or atypical solutions during the restoration of modern architecture," the document states. Conversely, the institute does not oppose panels in heritage zones that have a lower level of protection in justified cases.

This contrasts with the approach of the outgoing leadership of the capital city, which approved a climate strategy aiming to install photovoltaics on 20,000 Prague buildings by 2030. The municipality has already begun to install them. According to Hřib’s earlier statements, panels should be present not only in the outskirts of the city but also in the heritage reserve, as long as it does not significantly disrupt the historical or aesthetic value of the building, which, according to him, modern technology already allows.

The city has so far experimentally installed solar panels on the roofs of two residential buildings in Černý Most. The project is expected to gain significant momentum next year, when the capital city’s organization Prague Community for Renewable Energy (PSOE) plans to install solar panels on the roofs of 163 buildings owned by the city.

According to an analysis published last year, prepared for the Alliance for Energy Independence by the consulting company EkoWATT, the roofs of family and apartment buildings in the metropolis and its surroundings can provide enough photovoltaic capacity for 120,000 to 170,000 households.