Czechia: the municipal biogas plant in Kněžice loses support. Revenue will fall from 4.70 to 3.45 Kč/kWh

The municipality of Kněžice, owner of one of the first biogas plants in Czechia, announced in June 2026 that state operating support for its installation ends on 21 August. Today the municipality receives a total of 4.70 Kč for every kWh, and after that date it expects 3.45 Kč/kWh. The mayor estimates the fall in revenue at at least 2 million Kč a year. The example shows what the entire Czech biogas sector will face in the coming years.

Figures from Kněžice

The biogas plant was commissioned in 2006 and was the thirteenth in the country. The state guarantees operating support for 20 years of the installation's operation: the municipality sells electricity to a trader and receives a green bonus, i.e. a top-up to the price. The current total rate (electricity sale price and green bonus) is 4.70 Kč/kWh. After 21 August, according to the municipality, it will fall to 3.45 Kč/kWh; the source states that this value applies to periods when the price is between zero and 3.45 Kč/kWh, and does not explain exactly how it was calculated.

Investments in renewable energy sources in the municipality reached 138 million Kč, of which 43 million Kč was financed by a loan, and the payback period was 14.5 years.

More installations in the queue

According to the article, about 540 biogas plants operate in Czechia. In 2026 support ends for three more installations, and one has already moved to modernisation support. In 2027 this applies to nine, and for most of the whole sector support expires around 2032. The CZ Biom association, in a presentation of 13 April 2026, estimates that support for all biogas plants will end between 2026 and 2033, and roughly a third of them will not be able to switch to biomethane or the conversion is uneconomic for them.

Modernisation support: a dispute over conditions

After support ends, an installation can undergo modernisation, which extends support by 15 years. In Kněžice this would require an investment of about 20 million Kč. The municipality points to three problems: the conditions are economically unfavourable for municipal projects, eligible costs are vaguely defined, and only the listed components not older than five years are recognised. According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, modernisation support exists and talks are under way on possible changes to the parameters.

Related to this is the issue of heat: support for heat production from solid biomass was announced only until the end of 2026, and its continuation requires notification to the European Commission, which, according to the mayor, the state has not yet begun.

What this means

For municipalities and farmers who invested in biogas plants in the first decade of the twenty-first century, the end of support means a choice between three paths: modernisation with a new support period, switching to biomethane, and operating without support on the basis of the market price, or shutting down. The first requires capital, the second infrastructure (a gas connection), and the third is realistic only with good energy prices. We write about the change in the financing of support from 1 January 2026 in the text Czechia: POZE from the state budget.