The Austrian Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment and Energy (BMK) has increased the funding budget for small systems. The subsidy is aimed at private households and small businesses that install a system with an output of up to 50 kilowatts. They receive an investment grant of 150 to 250 euros per kilowatt of installed output, depending on the size of the system.
With this, Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Green Party) has refilled the subsidy pot in time before it becomes completely empty. Now an additional 20 million euros are available for new projects, as a bridge until the new funding under the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG) begins.
Uncertainty removed
This bridging is of enormous importance for the industry in Austria. "This year's subsidies were almost completely drawn down. Accordingly, there was a lot of uncertainty in the last few weeks, which posed great challenges for installers and potential system operators," knows Vera Immitzer, Managing Director of the Federal Association PV Austria. "Therefore, the increase demanded by the PVA was unavoidable. With the increase that has now taken place, those private individuals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises that still want to rely on renewable energy from solar power in the course of the summer can implement their systems."
Continuity for technicians
The increase in the subsidy was necessary because the adoption of the EAEC and the related regulations had been delayed. "Until the EAG can come into force, we see the increase in subsidies that has now taken place as an important step towards climate neutrality and as a logical consequence to ensure continuity in the expansion of photovoltaic systems up to 50 kilowatts," emphasises Gernot Schröck, division manager at the trading company Siblik SmartHome & Renewable Energies. "Simple, unbureaucratic and continuous funding is important and creates planning security for the implementation of our photovoltaic and storage projects," Daniel Nauschnegg, Managing Director of Energietechnik Nauschnegg, adds the view of the system installers. "The customers as well as we as a company can now continue planning."
See also: Increasing choice of storage solutions in Austria and Switzerland
But also for the module manufacturers, continuous promotion and thus continuous expansion is important. "We will soon double the existing module production to be able to cover the enormously increased demand for innovative modules," says Peter Prasser, Managing Director of Kioto Solar from St. Veit an der Glan in Carinthia. "In order to further expand Austrian production and trained craftsmen, continuous framework conditions must be in place - among other things, this top-up ensures that."
Promotion under the EAEC must start soon
Nevertheless, the start of promotion under the EAEC must not be left too long in coming, industry representatives warn. "It can be assumed that the trend of the last few months will continue and that the newly contributed funds will also be drawn down in the next few months," they predict. After all, the annual addition of solar power capacity must be tripled to 1.1 gigawatts in order to achieve the federal government's targets. (mfo)
