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New Komořany: The beating heart of the area where the development of urban settlements, R&D and industry will be combined. The ČSA surface mine’s area has undergone tempestuous development over the past 100 years. It has been completely changed by surface mining, to which also municipalities had to give way in the past.

As part of revitalising and resocialising the ČSA surface mine, a smart residential complex named Nové Komořany will be developed in its heart near the future lake’s shores. It will be bordered by the river Bílina. Sev.en Group’s ambition is to build an energy self-sufficient settlement featuring smart solutions connected to local renewable energy sources (RES). Jobs will be created there in a variety of new industries. Space will also be dedicated to research and development related to sustainable energy production. Attractive housing will be a valuable asset.

Photovoltaic power plants are an integral part of Green Mine project. It will thus contribute to increasing the share of renewable electricity sources in power generation throughout the Czech Republic and, to a significant extent, to the greening of the national energy sector and energy mix.

Hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel of the future: hydrogen production, energy storage transcending into the transport sector. The Green Mine project aims to produce green hydrogen using electricity from renewable sources.

To produce green hydrogen, all you need is green electricity, water, and an electrolyser, which is a device that uses electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. In the Green Mine project, hydrogen will be produced at a hydrogen facility near New Komořany. It will include electrolysers for electrolysis (water decomposition), tanks and a system for injecting hydrogen into the tanks, and a water system. The green hydrogen produced near New Komořany will be available for use in chemical plants, as storage for electricity production or as fuel for low and zero emission mobility, such as hydrogen buses in nearby Most, but also passenger cars.

Extensive areas of reclaimed land are at hand not only for use in green electricity production or green hydrogen production. Modern agriculture is also one of the objectives of the Green Mine strategic project. Green Mine prioritises innovations suitable for the ČSA surface mine’s area over conventional agricultural production, specifically in the form of aquaponics—a combination of the words aquaculture, i.e. the raising of water animals such as fish for food, or the growing of plants in water for food, and hydroponics, the method of growing plants in water to which special chemicals are added, rather than growing them in earth.

Green Mine project will include an all-round modern aquaponics farm with fish breeding and production and greenhouse vegetable cultivation. At the first stage, it will focus on the combined production of trout and lettuce. The advantage of aquaponics is a closed cycle independent of the external environment. Saving energy, it helps to shorten production cycles, significantly increase yields per hectare, and reduce requirements for irrigation and overall maintenance. The rooftops of the greenhouses support photovoltaic panels, which generate enough energy for operating the farm. Aquaponics farms are energy self-sufficient and autonomous.

Sev.en Group’s ambition is to build an energy self-sufficient settlement featuring smart solutions connected to local renewable energy sources (RES). Jobs will be created there in a variety of new industries. The focus will be mainly on climate tech industry, i.e. the sector that brings technological solutions mitigating the effects of climate change. Renewable energy sources R&D will be at home here, including energy storage and circular utilisation of materials, including those that originated as by-products from coal use in electricity and heat generation, etc.

Science, research, development and innovation are some of the essential investments in the future of the entire region. R&D, technology development, and innovations are the key to ensuring regional competitiveness, to which Sev.en Group also wants to contribute.

The new character of the landscape will make the region an attractive place to live. An integral part will also be various options for recreation and leisure activities. The unique biotopes formed in the area as part of reclamation and natural succession are an ideal opportunity for suburban recreation. And also a good place for walks in the outdoors; in this locality, which will offer gradually evolving and changing natural sceneries. The visually interesting area stands out especially when viewed from the observation tower, the shape of which alludes to the entire region’s mining past.

New options for recreation and tourism will arise in connection with the lake. The extensive water area will be suitable for water sports. The surroundings of the lake will offer a network of cycle paths that will connect to regional cycle paths.

The entire area, reclamation, natural succession, and the lake itself will be a good place for observing natural processes, flora and fauna.

Areas affected by mining are an ideal opportunity for natural succession. Unique and treasured biotopes with a high biological value will emerge on a large area. Some 60-80% of the area is suitable for natural succession.

Part of natural succession is also the lake itself, in which water accumulates spontaneously. On the succession areas, diverse littoral vegetation will sprout in the shallows, and the shores will be populated with undemanding, adaptable plant species, initially annuals and then also herbs, grasses, shrubs, and trees. Rich communities of fauna depend on such a varied environment. Thanks to the inhospitable conditions, these are often very rare species that do not have a chance to survive in the normal landscape in competition with stronger common species.

The spontaneous natural restoration of the landscape is also attractive for its visitors; it will offer attractive views. It is a diverse and varied landscape, and so you can enter it again and again, and yet enjoy a different experience every time.

Pumped-storage power stations help to store energy using the changing conditions in the electricity market. At times of electricity surpluses, the power station pumps water from the lower reservoir into the upper reservoir, thereby storing the majority of the used energy, or accumulating in the upper reservoir. At times of power shortages, the stored energy can be used by releasing water from the upper reservoir to the lower one via a water turbine that generates electricity. This helps the energy system during peak loads.

The upper reservoir of the Green Mine pumped-storage power station could be built on the so called Jánský Hill. The Komořany Lake would be the lower reservoir, the pumped water from which would be used precisely for electricity generation in peak demand periods. The difference in height between the upper and lower reservoirs will amount to almost 600 metres, which brings the site’s energy potential closer to, for example, the Dlouhé Stráně pumped-storage hydroelectric power station.