Brno will adjust the subsidy program for green roofs to better fulfill their functions

Brno – Brno will adjust its grant program for green roofs after five years of operation. Changes were consulted with experts from the Brno University of Technology, the Czech Globe Institute for Global Change Research, and the Association for Green Installation and Maintenance. Supported projects should fulfill their essential functions even better, such as retaining rainwater, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, or providing noise and temperature insulation for buildings. This was stated today in a press release by Deputy Mayor Filip Chvátal (KDU-ČSL).

"From next year, it will be possible to apply for support for extensive green roofs only from a substrate depth of ten centimeters or more. Support for intensive green roofs will also increase from the current 1,300 crowns to 2,000 crowns per square meter. We will also introduce a new support category for biosolar roofs valued at 2,000 crowns per square meter," Chvátal stated. Extensive green roofs have a shallower layer of vegetation, usually up to 15 centimeters, while intensive green roofs have layers measured in tens of centimeters, thus retaining rainwater more effectively. Biosolar green roofs incorporate the use of solar energy for electricity production.

Brno allocates 19 million crowns annually for green roofs. According to the city hall, the grant program is functioning, as evidenced by a steady number of applications and positive feedback from applicants. Last year, 52 projects covering nearly 13,000 m² were created thanks to the support.

According to Pavel Dostal from the Association for Green Installation and Maintenance, the Brno program was the first of its kind in the Czech Republic. "It showed one of the ways cities can promote a higher quality environment within their territories. We welcome the innovations in the grant program; they reflect a greater emphasis on more valuable compositions of green roofs," he said to ČTK. According to Dostal, intensive green roofs expand the usable area of the property and make rooftops accessible to residents. Roofs with a substrate depth of over ten centimeters are more sustainable for the future because plants in a deeper substrate layer are less affected by prolonged droughts, he noted.

Support for biosolar roofs, which incorporate both plants and photovoltaic panels, according to Dostal, will lead to a combined use of rooftops for the production of emissions-free energy while maintaining all the benefits of a green roof.