Wind power expansion is progressing slowly

This was announced by the interest group of the wind energy industry on Thursday at a press conference. As of the end of 2022, there were a total of 1,374 wind power plants in Austria with a total capacity of 3,586 MW.

A year ago, at the same location, an expansion of 400 MW was expected for the past year. The speed at which wind power is being expanded is declining and is well below the level of 2013-2015, said IG Windkraft Managing Director Stefan Moidl. He pointed out that there had been no state subsidies for wind energy from the beginning of 2020 to October 2022.

However, the current funding under the Renewable Energy Sources Expansion Act (EAG) also has its pitfalls. The funding for 200 MW, which could be requested by application, was used in full. According to the information, the subsidies for 190 MW, which were awarded by tender, were only offset by a demand of 45 MW. This is not surprising, according to Moidl: It has also been shown in other countries that the switch to a tendering system poses great challenges for wind power operators.

Approval procedures should be shortened

Although 2022 brought the “biggest energy crisis in 50 years”, the reaction to it is still a long time coming, says the IG wind power boss. There have been many announcements that have not yet resulted in resolutions. However, the amendment to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and the Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act (EAB-G) announced by the government on Wednesday are viewed positively. The main aim here is to shorten the duration of the approval process.

It is now hoped that the EIA amendment will be decided by the National Council in March, explained the deputy managing director and chief legal officer of the association, Ursulanaher. This is particularly important for the 150 wind turbines (with an output of 800 MW) that are currently in the approval process.

Large offer to help against high electricity prices

IG Windkraft criticized the skimming off of profits for energy suppliers. Here, fossil energy got off better than renewable energy producers. The volatile prices are also necessary for the wind power generators, says Stefan Moidl. “I need revenue to be able to handle renewable energies. How quickly has it happened that wind energy is now much cheaper than the current market price? And we’ll take something away from them immediately.” The wind turbine operators need protection for times when market prices are lower again.

The IG wind power chairman Fritz Herzog made a similar statement. “The only thing that really helps in the long term (against high electricity prices, note) is simply to have a large supply and the renewables are necessary in the relationship. Then you should definitely not slow down,” says Herzog.,

Current figures: wind power in Austria

As of the end of 2022, there were a total of 1,374 wind power plants in Austria with a total capacity of 3,586 MW. These would generate 8.3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually, which corresponds to 11 percent of Germany’s electricity consumption. Most wind power was generated in Lower Austria (1,861 MW) in 2022, followed by Burgenland (1,346 MW). A large part of the 53 wind turbines that, according to IG Windkraft, are to be erected this year are also attributable to the two federal states. 28 power plants are planned in Lower Austria and 21 wind turbines in Burgenland. If the forecast is correct, there will be 1,427 plants in Austria by the end of 2023 with a total capacity of 3,826 MW.

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