- Austria connects a total capacity of 1 GW-1.4 GW in 2022.
- Austria passed its long-awaited Renewables Expansion Law (EAG) a year ago in an effort to promote renewables expansion.
According to the country’s solar industry association PV Austria, Austria has connected to the grid new solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with a total capacity of 1 GW-1.4 GW in 2022, which exceeds solar additions in any previous year.
The country is on track to meet the 2023 targets, but it must ensure that the expansion targets are raised year after year, according to PV Austria’s Vera Immitzer.
According to the association, the solar boom is likely to continue beyond this year, but weak power grids and a lack of grid connection permits are causing bottlenecks.
Austria passed its long-awaited Renewables Expansion Law (EAG) a year ago in an effort to promote renewables expansion. The Alpine country implemented a market premium for large-scale clean power plants with the law, which supplements the investment subsidy granted for the construction of small plants.
According to its 2030 strategy, the Alpine country aims to increase its renewables share to 100% by the end of this decade, up from 75% currently, with new solar capacity producing approximately 11 TWh of the 27 TWh required to meet the target.
The country’s largest solar power plant feeding directly into the grid is a 17.2-MW system in the state of Styria that was put into service last December by local power company Energie Steiermark. The solar park, which was built on a 21-hectare (51.89-acre) plot at a former coal mine in the municipalities of Baernbach and Rosental, is expected to generate 18 million kWh of clean energy per year.