Five years ago, the Mělník III power plant, once the largest coal-fired unit in the Czech Republic, ceased operation. Commissioned in 1981, it was a mainstay of the country’s energy system for decades. Its closure in 2021 paved the way for a major transformation of the entire site north of Prague. Energy company ČEZ is investing tens of billions of crowns in lower-emission technologies, including what will be the country’s largest combined-cycle gas-fired heat and power plant. The remaining coal-fired operations at Mělník are due to end by 2030. The transformation is expected to significantly reduce emissions while ensuring reliable heating supplies for around 250,000 households in Prague and the surrounding region.
The Mělník III power plant, located around 30 kilometres north of Prague, was the largest coal-fired generating unit in what was then Czechoslovakia when it entered service in 1981. With an installed capacity of 500 MW, it played a key role in the country’s electricity supply. Over more than three decades of operation, it generated more than 77 million MWh of electricity – more than the Czech Republic currently consumes in an entire year.
An open-type fan mill on the site of the decommissioned Mělník III brown-coal power station|Photo: Vít Černý, ČTK
The unit was permanently shut down in 2021. Its turbine stopped for the last time in February, and on August 17 the plant was formally removed from the Czech energy system. The closure was followed by the dismantling of equipment and measures to secure the site environmentally. Some components were subsequently reused at other power plants.
The closure of Mělník III forms part of a much broader transformation of the Czech heating and power sector. ČEZ, the country’s largest energy company, is gradually replacing coal-fired facilities with modern, lower-emission technologies.
At Mělník, the company is building what will be the largest combined-cycle gas-fired heat and power plant in Czechia. The remaining coal-fired units, Mělník I and Mělník II, are scheduled to be taken out of operation by 2030.
The site is particularly important because of its role in district heating. It supplies heat to Prague, Mělník, Neratovice and a number of other municipalities, serving the equivalent of around 250,000 households as well as schools, hospitals and public institutions.
The transformation of Mělník therefore reflects a wider shift taking place across Czechia and much of Central Europe: the gradual move away from coal towards cleaner sources of energy. The challenge is not only to reduce emissions, but also to ensure that the transition does not compromise reliable supplies of electricity and heat.
Five years after the closure of Mělník III, the site that once symbolised Czechoslovakia’s reliance on large coal-fired power stations is thus becoming a symbol of a very different phase in the country’s energy development.