According to the estimation of PV Austria, the Austrian solar energy industry association, the total installed capacity of the new solar photovoltaic system connected to the grid in Austria in 2022 is 1GW-1.4GW, which exceeds the solar energy increment in any previous year.
Vera Immitzer of the Austrian Photovoltaic Association said that Austria is achieving the 2023 target, but it must ensure that it can further improve its expansion target every year.
The association said that the solar energy boom may continue beyond this year, but the weak power grid and the lack of grid connection license have brought bottlenecks.
In order to promote the expansion of renewable energy, Austria approved the long-awaited Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG) a year ago. Through this law, the Alpine country introduced a market premium mechanism for large clean power plants to supplement the investment subsidies provided for the construction of small power plants.
According to its 2030 strategy, Austria's national goal is to increase the share of renewable energy from 75% to 100% by the end of this decade. Among the 27TWh required to achieve this goal, the new solar capacity is about 11TWh.
The largest solar power station in Austria that directly supplies power to the grid is a 17.2MW system located in Styria, which was put into operation by the local power company Energie Steiermark in December last year.
The solar power plant is built on a former coal mine in Baernbach and Rosental, covering an area of 21 hectares (51.89 acres), and is expected to produce 18 million hours of clean electricity annually.
