Kamil Čermák graduated from Prague University of Economics and Business and Erasmus University Rotterdam. He worked as a reporter and presenter at Czech Television and then as a spokesman and advisor to the Minister of Industry and Trade. Since 1995, he has held several senior management positions at Czech Telecom, Czech Airlines, BM Management (private equity), ČEZ Polska, and from 2012 to 2016, he managed the media house Economia. Since 2016, he has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ČEZ ESCO. Kamil Čermák is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for an Emission-Free Future and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Modern Energy Union. He is also a member of Post Bellum’s Memory of the Nation Collegium and a founding member of the PR Club with card number 002.
This August, the largest photovoltaic power plant in the city centre began supplying the Prague Congress Centre with emission-free electricity. The photovoltaic plant from ČEZ ESCO, as big as a football field, is part of one of the largest Czech energy-saving projects. “Judging by the continued customer interest, we can see that the synergy and efficiency of this exemplary energysaving project has been a gauntlet thrown down for other owners of similar buildings. We estimate the savings potential in Czech public buildings at CZK 20 billion per year,” says Kamil Čermák, CEO of ČEZ ESCO, the most prominent Czech player in energy services and new energy.
The panels are in place, and the power plant on the roof of the Prague Congress Centre is producing. How was this construction different from what your teams are used to?
I am sure it is the size. With a capacity of around 1 megawatt and over two thousand panels installed, it was something we had not done before. The photovoltaic system at the Congress Centre, together with the one on the roof of the central warehouse of the Billa chain in Modletice, was really the first in a row. Since then, the possibilities and the customers’ perspectives have shifted, and today, we can see more requests like this.
Building such a power plant almost in the centre of Prague is certainly not an easy thing to do…
You are right. We were learning the hard way. Our designers had to repeatedly prove that the whole installation would not affect the surrounding environment. For example, they used tests on a sample of panels placed on the roof to verify that photovoltaics would not dazzle anyone in the vicinity, not even visitors to the Petřín lookout tower several kilometres away.
Was it advantageous for you that you were essentially building on an EPC (Energy Performance Contracting) project that had been running at the Prague Congress Centre for seven years?
You could tell we did not start from scratch here. Good work had already been done here by colleagues from Enesa, a member of the ČEZ ESCO group, who have gained the trust of the Prague Congress Centre in the EPC energy savings project with a guarantee directly in the contract. This was indeed a thorough energy overhaul, as the technological equipment here has remained essentially unchanged since the late 1970s. Enesa relied on the technological interdependence of the individual steps and maximised the synergies between heating and air conditioning. The fact that the cheapest energy is that which is not consumed has been 100% confirmed.
Has your order with the Prague Congress Centre helped you to place further orders?
Above all, it is a good advertisement for modern energy solutions. Photovoltaics on the roof will contribute to further savings in the operation of the Prague Congress Centre building and reduce its carbon footprint. The good references are certainly an attraction for other companies and municipalities. They simply want to try how it will work for them. Judging by the continued customer interest, we can see that the synergy and efficiency of projects like the one at the Prague Congress Centre are a gauntlet thrown down for other owners of similar facilities.
You said that larger rooftop photovoltaics are not uncommon today. Which customers have you built such larger plants for?
Photovoltaic power plants are certainly one of our most significant joint projects with Škoda Auto. They are already operating on five buildings at the carmaker’s service centre in Kosmonosy and are also being built on the roofs of the ŠKODA Parts Centre and logistics buildings near the carmaker’s main plant in Mladá Boleslav. Large installations have been made on the roofs of the car part manufacturer Aisan, the Černý Most Shopping Centre, and the headquarters of Komerční banka. We have contributed to the decarbonisation of the Czech Armaments Factory in Uherský Brod with an interesting form of carport, a covered car park.
In your opinion, how big is the market for energy-saving solutions in the Czech Republic?
In the public buildings segment alone, we estimate it at CZK 20 billion per year.
What do companies and municipalities want most from the energy menu today?
I have to confirm that interest in energy has skyrocketed, with the common denominators: safe, self-sufficient, and renewable. Companies are realising that it is necessary to be more energy selfsufficient and, at the same time, meet the requirements of banks, which emphasise climatic and environmental parameters in their financing.
Why should I choose ČEZ ESCO as a customer?
Our group represents more than 20 differently focused companies. Together, they can not only design but also carry out a complex decarbonisation at the customer’s site. For large companies, this is a long haul, and we want and can be a reliable guide for them all the time.
Thank you for the interview
