Limited success for large-scale PV auctions in Austria

The Austrian authorities have only used 35% of their 2023 budget for large-scale solar auctions thus far.

Image: Mark Merner, Unsplash

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From pv magazine Germany

Record-breaking demand for rooftop PV systems in Austria this year quickly depleted available funding. The available funding for the individual rounds was quickly exhausted and in total, more than 2 GW of PV systems will be built.

The auction scheme for utility-scale PV in Austria has seen only 35% of the 2023 budget allocated in the first four rounds, assigning just 248 MW out of the tendered 700 MW. PV Austria is urging adjustments for the next year, proposing an increase in tender ceiling prices and the rollover of unused funding from this year.

The association said that the undersubscription of tenders is due to reasons such as the unjustified 25% discount for ground-mounted systems, elevated investment costs, and the lack of approvals from states and municipalities.

“It remains to be seen whether the selected projects will actually be built – because in practice there are other hurdles than securing the auction's incentive,” said PV Austria Managing Director Vera Immitzer. “We also need strong networks, clarity in network access and a modern e-commerce law in order to be able to use the diversity of technology.”

Austria surpassed 1 GW of annual PV installations for the first time in 2022. PV Austria said that developers installed 1,009 MW of solar, surpassing 740 MW in 2021, 341 MW in 2020, and 247 MW in 2019. By the end of 2022, the country's cumulative PV capacity had reached 3.79 GW, accounting for 6.6% of the nation's electricity demand last year.

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