Good news for Austria when it comes to the energy transition: the share of renewable energy in public electricity generation has risen to 87 percent in 2023. The Federal Ministry for Climate Protection announces a “record increase”.
Public power generation: Green energy at 87 percent
New projections from the Fraunhofer Institute show that the renewable share of Austrian electricity generation will be 87 percent in 2023. This is an increase of nine percent and, according to the ministry, a “strong plus” compared to previous years. The database for the calculations comes from the Association of European Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E). If you take a look at the share of renewable energies in public electricity generation in an EU comparison, Austria is not doing badly at all:
© Fraunhofer Institute
Austria is in second place in the 2023 EU comparison (87 percent), directly after Luxembourg, which is ahead with 89.6 percent. This is followed by Lithuania (80.2 percent) and Denmark (81.5 percent).
High value thanks to photovoltaics and wind power
The increase in the “renewable” share results from the increase in photovoltaic systems (PV), because the PV share has more than doubled since 2022: It rose from 0.98 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2022 to 2.35 TWh in 2023. This makes Photovoltaics now account for 4.4 percent of Austrian electricity generation. The ministry expects even better figures for 2024, as the majority of the expansion will only be reflected in production in 2024. The share of wind power in electricity generation is also increasing and has even contributed to more than 15 percent (15.3 percent) of Austrian electricity generation.
“The high increase in the renewable share of electricity generation and the great demand for funding from the Ministry of Climate Protection show that people in Austria want to make a contribution to the energy transition and switch to clean electricity. Every additional solar power plant and wind power plant in our country protects the climate, strengthens our independence and ensures falling energy prices,” said Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler, commenting on the developments.
“Smaller” PV systems are now available without sales tax
Gewessler speaks of good news “that so many people are making their contribution”. In order to make the switch to photovoltaics as attractive as possible, sales tax has been waived for smaller PV systems up to 35 kWp since this year. Private individuals do not have to submit an application, they simply save the tax. The funding system should thus become simpler and less bureaucratic.
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