From pv magazine Germany
The Austrian federal government has approved, on Monday, an energy package that is intended to address the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The package includes an “energy independence investment offensive” which includes a budget of €250 million for the development of wind power and photovoltaic projects.
The local PV association – PV Austria – welcomed the new package while also stressing the importance of implementing the secondary legislation required by the Renewable Energy Act (EAG) introduced last summer.
“Thousands of projects are urgently waiting for an opportunity to be implemented,” the trade body stated. “We assume that, in view of the announcements, the EAG will now be completed more quickly and the projects can be implemented,” explains Herbert Paierl, CEO of PV Austria.
Shortly before the war in Ukraine broke out, PV Austria asked the federal government in Vienna to provide €144 million for new solar rebates, and €30 million for battery storage in 2022. This would mean doubling the funding volume planned for this year. However, the ordinances to get the funding off the ground are still in the parliamentary process and have not been passed and the 2022 rebate program should be launched in the coming weeks.
Austria has set itself the goal of completely converting electricity generation to renewable energies by 2030. According to PV Austria, around 11GW of installed photovoltaic capacity would be needed for this. However, Austria is still a long way from that. At the end of 2020, it exceeded the 2GW threshold. The current annual growth rate of 350 to 400MW is far from enough to reach 11GW by 2030.
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