Renewable Energy: Clarity on Subsidies

Not only does the new ordinance bring a total of 300 million euros in funding for eco-projects across Austria, but community photovoltaic systems are also now being funded – more on this Start promoting renewable investments (news.orf.et).

Between lottery game and fight

For everyone who is planning a photovoltaic project and hoping for funding, starting April 21st things will get exciting again: A third of the construction cost will be covered by the federal government – ​​if you’re lucky and take the deposit stamp. This funding gets your turn in the round, according to guild master the Styrian electrical engineer, Christian Gaich: “Of course it’s a completely confusing story again. You have to get completely acquainted with this conveyor track all over again. 21 This will be the first funding call on April – that means you can get tickets once there, then you get a confirmation email, then you can come in and then you can hand over your funding. It sounds like a lottery to me And it’s going to be a fight again.”

Overall, however, he sees the 300 million increase across Austria as a positive, as it is now clear how big the funding pots are for different project types – and above all how community systems are funded. That is, photovoltaic systems that use the entire neighborhood power supply.

Downer: Delivery problems

The big downfall here: the necessary storage batteries and more are currently hard to come by. “I saw this morning, I want a memory — delivery dates: February 2023, October 2022, August 2022. And it goes like that,” Gaitch says. The necessary inverters are also hard to come by at the moment: “Everywhere you have electronics, you have a problem.”

Skilled Labor Shortage Just Barely Manageable

The shortage of skilled workers is another problem, but there is a problem to be tackled – hopes are also being raised here for special training programs for the unemployed.