Austria doubles the pace of solar panel expansion – EURACTIV.de
In 2021, more than double the solar module capacity of 2020 was installed in Austria. Thus, the past year was by far the best in the solar industry in the country, according to the Federal Association of Photovoltaics Austria on Monday with
Austria has one of the world’s largest shares of renewable electricity, initially through an early hydropower boom.
However, as the country’s population and environmentalists block further projects in the area, renewable energy policy has focused on wind and solar energy.
“The industry has achieved incredible things in the past year,” explains Herbert Paierl, chairman of the Austrian PV industry association. “The record year 2021 must now be taken as a further basis and motivation for the expansion – further expanding the performance will be challenging for everyone.”
He referred to the need for massive network expansion, the designation of areas and faster approvals.
A total of 740 megawatts of power were installed – double the 340 megawatts planned for 2020 – bringing the country’s total to 2783 megawatts. Solar energy currently covers around 5 percent of the electricity requirement in Austria.
As with the expansion of wind turbines, most new PV installations are concentrated in eastern Austria, with around one in five of the new systems installed in 2021 being in Lower Austria.
Austria has set itself the goal of covering its entire power requirement with renewable energies by 2030, for which forecasts assume that around 10,000 megawatts of solar capacity will be required.