Green EU Subsidies in the Hands of Organised Crime

As a result, the government guaranteed exorbitant prices to anyone who built a solar power plant until the end of 2010. The so-called solar boom began. Then, from 2011, prices fell by more than half, and entrepreneurs scrambled to get licences for unfinished plants. Curious lawsuits are still pending. In essence, the lawsuits are based on a fraudulent scheme whereby the owner handed over the plant as completed, even though it was not, in order to obtain a licence by the end of 2010 and thus be able to receive the extremely favourable pre-2010 purchase price for the electricity generated in the future.

The team has  described a case of a bribery involving representatives of one of the largest companies building solar power plants. It involved one of the MPs who had delayed the first price cuts.

The situation was slightly different in Slovakia, where the state decided how much solar capacity it wanted and launched a tender to meet the demand. However, the tender was published only four days in advance, so only those who knew about it in advance could effectively participate in the bidding process. Among them were a number of Slovakian oligarchs. Antonio Vadala, an Italian "businessman" with links to the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia, also had plans to do business in Slovakia in the solar energy sector, but in the end the plans fell through. The journalists have described the origins of corruption in the solar energy sector and its impact on the market situation.

The first article is the opening article, summarising the infamous history of the Czech government's subsidy programme for renewable energy projects. The government undertook to purchase solar power from subsidised power plants at fixed prices for a period of 20 years. By the end of 2010, the agreed price was inflated, leading to a fierce race to license new subsidised power plants, which would be guaranteed a huge profit for 20 years. 

The team will bring a series of stories about the fraud and corruption that has resulted from this subsidy programme and the owners of the largest solar power plants.

Photo (c) Lenka Matoušková