Image: colourbox.de
The photovoltaic offensive was presented in December, and the municipal council still has to approve it next week. The committee already gave the green light.
As reported, the city of Linz intends to install more than 100 PV systems on city buildings and, when the project is complete, will generate 85 times more solar energy than is the case today. The energy production then roughly corresponds to the consumption of 4000 households. Mayor Klaus Luger (SP) sees this as an essential part of the city’s strategy to become climate-neutral by 2040.
Savings of around one million euros
Although the focus is on ecology, there are also economic advantages. The city assumes annual savings of around one million euros. In the best case, up to half of the 20 million euros in investment costs will come from the federal government.
The panels are to be installed between 2024 and 2027. In the first stage, it is the turn of the Brucknerhaus, the New Town Hall, the Posthof, the Pichling Sports Park and the Volkshaus Dornach. “Linz will thus be the first city to implement the expansion of PV energy on a large scale,” says property officer City Councilor Dietmar Prammer (SP).
Three months behind schedule
However, this is not quite on schedule. On the one hand, this is due to supply bottlenecks and a lack of staff at the companies. On the other hand, there are the organizational and legal challenges, which, according to ILG Managing Director Markus Eidenberger, are much greater than the technical ones. In order to be able to use the electricity generated where it is needed, the city is establishing eleven renewable energy communities, which will be pooled under the umbrella of Linzer Energiegemeinschaft GmbH (LEG), which is also yet to be founded. Until now, it was only possible to consume the self-produced electricity within the respective property boundary. The delay is likely to be around three months. However, since experts are assuming shorter delivery times and falling prices due to the looming crisis in construction, it is “not a real misfortune that we are now tendering,” says Eidenberger.
Source: Nachrichten
