Country wants to reactivate 120 small power plants
Business
The Landwerk to reactivate 120 decommissioned small power plants to generate clean electricity from hydropower. The master plan for the federal state of Salzburg provides for complete energy autonomy by 2050. By 2030, 65 percent of the country is expected to grow up.
However, wind and solar energy alone are not enough to achieve these goals. Almost 140 hydroelectric power plant locations that have not been used for a long time are currently registered with the State of Salzburg. Most of them were built around 1900 as mills and have recently become unprofitable due to low electricity prices.
While a small part, such as in Lungau on Rotgüldensee or in Salzburg-Leopoldskron on the Almkanal, has already been or will be replaced by a new power plant, 120 other locations are currently being examined more closely.
“Procedures often discouraging for operators”
Reactivating old hydropower locations is anything but easy in Salzburg, according to Franz Kok, chairman of the green electricity exchange. “The procedures are often discouraging for operators of small power plants – for example when it comes to extending water permits. This literally makes many operators ‘thump their hats’. And that doesn’t have to be the case,” says Kok.
The responsible regional councilor Josef Schwaiger (ÖVP).